Vows
by Kimi03
Summary: A one shot turned into a story. The life of Clark and Chloe after the finale... ignoring the 7 years into the future part. Clark/Chloe
1. Vows

Vows

_**A/N:**__ This little story was inspired by the Finale. Personally, I believed that Clark's vows were more fitting to Chloe than to Lois, but that's just me._

_**Disclaimer**__: I own nothing, but the story. (Which may or may not be a One-Shot, still undecided)_

{-}

With a sigh, the blond beauty looked at herself in the mirror, "_Only two more days and I will finally say goodbye._" In only two more days would her first love, and probably true love, marry her dear cousin, Lois Lane.

For Chloe Sullivan, life had never been the easiest but then again she wouldn't have changed any of it because it led her to be part of her beloved Clark's life. Maybe the only thing she would change would be the role she had to take for the upcoming wedding, instead of being the bridesmaid, to be the actual bride. But that was only wishful thinking. She took a glance at the man that was lying on her bed, the handsome blond archer, Oliver Queen.

She smiled at the sight.

Ollie, was a wonderful man, and after much tribulation and apocalyptic events, Chloe learned to love this man. He was a blessing in her life and he made her very happy. Nonetheless… the Man of Steal still haunted her dreams, and made her heart skip a beat every once in a while. After that thought Chloe quickly chastised herself, how dare she think of her best friend Clark in that way! Sure she had feelings for him, key word being _**had**_. When would it become clear for her that Clark would never be for her, he would never love her, in the romantic way at least. Try to make a stubborn heart understand that. She felt disgusted at the thought that she still had feelings for her best friend. After all he would marry another woman, her dearest cousin Lois nonetheless!

Chloe took a quick shower and then got dressed to see Clark and ask him how everything went with his proposal to Lois. Over the years, Chloe had learned how to cover up her feelings for a certain Kryptonian, and to a certain extent she learned to fool herself into believing that she no longer loved him. Unfortunately, even thought the feelings were buried and locked up in her heart, that didn't mean they weren't there anymore.

Chloe arrived at the Kent Barn in the early morning and saw Clark sitting in the table with many papers around, some were crumpled, others were ripped and he had others that were a little messy, all of this was amusing to the blond.

"I see you have some trouble, mind if I help?" she took a seat in front of Clark and grabbed a paper at random and read out loud "I, Clark Kent,…" that was all that was written in that particular paper. Chloe chuckled, "Writing the vows I see. So I'm guessing she said yes."

Clark sighed and took off his glasses, "No. She said no, because she felt like she was stopping me from my true potential." Chloe felt bad about asking, she was certain that Lois would say yes because she really loved Clark, so her answer was somewhat unexpected. "But I'm not giving up that easily."

There was the Clark Kent she knew and love, "That's my Clark, I'm sure Lois is just feeling a little insecure, but you know she loves you." She took his hand and smiled sweetly at him. "If she is still being stubborn, just let me know and I'll knock some sense into her." She said teasingly.

Clark chuckled in response, "As you can see I'm having trouble writing these vows, who knew they were so difficult to write? Even for a reporter for heaven's sake!" the last part was said with faked exaggeration.

"That's why I'm here." She started questioning Clark about the things he liked about Lois, why he wanted to marry her, what he expected from a life time partner, and then he wrote some drafts but liked none.

Chloe's phone rang and she excused herself for a while. Meanwhile, the one and only Clark Kent took out a piece of paper that was very old, crumpled but readable, from his pocket. It was a paper that he held very dear to him, Chloe's letter from years ago. He read the last sentence which was one of his favorites.

"_I may not be the one you love today, but I'll let you go for now, hoping one day you'll fly back to me. Because I think you're worth the wait."_

He took a look at Chloe, he was aware that she loved him all those years ago, and in truth, at some point in his life he returned her feelings, but his timing was always off. He often wondered if she still loved him, but knowing that she was now with Oliver, he was almost certain that was not the case. If only he knew how wrong he was. He smiled, with an emotion unreadable at Chloe and even though she was speaking with Oliver she smiled back. In the spur of the moment he began writing and in less than five minutes he had written his vows, and finally liked what he had written.

He was going to proof read but in the first sentence he had made a fatal mistake. He heard Chloe saying her goodbyes to Oliver and he quickly shoved both the letter and his vows inside his pockets before the blond came back in.

"I'm sorry Clark, but Oliver needs my help, something about the catering for the wedding." She gathered her stuff and placed some of the drafts in the trash can, "I'll be back in a few hours, but before I leave, how are the vows coming along?"

He ran a hand through his hair and answered, "I got it covered," he smiled nervously at her.

"Good, give them to me," she said in her usual bossy tone.

He instantly got even more nervous, Chloe must not read them, not yet. "Uhm. I just need to clear a couple of details."

"I see. I will pick them up when I come back, I'll need them to show my hard headed cousin that you truly care about her." She gave Clark a kiss on the cheek and opened the door, but before she stepped outside…

"Chloe," he raised his voice a little, but not to the point of shouting, she turned around and waited for him to proceed, "if the circumstances had been different," he paused and searched for the right words, "if I had asked you to marry me, after knowing my secret and everything that we have been through, and you knowing of my hero responsibilities wha—"

She smiled with some sort of melancholy, "Yes. I would have said yes, without a shadow of doubt." She left the blue eyed man standing with a surprised expression. Chloe walked quickly to her car and started the engine, before speeding off she looked at the Kent residence and wiped one tear that escaped her beautiful emerald orbs.

Clark could not believe what he had heard. He sat down and tried to process the information, Chloe would have said 'yes'? Just like that? Does that mean that she still loves him? No. That would be absurd. He took out again the letter and his vows and he placed them on the table. He began reading his vows…

_"I, Clark Kent, take you, __**Chloe Sullivan**__, to be my companion, forever. With you by my side I will never be alone. Though the world sees a strong and independent woman, I've never known someone with such gentle grace and more pure heart. When I've been lost you've always been there to bring me back, so on this day, at this moment, I pledge the rest of my life to you. You've always believed in me, and I believe in you. When you believe in someone it's not for a minute, or just for now, its forever."_

_._

_._

_._

Maybe writing Chloe's name instead of Lois' might not have been a mistake after all.


	2. Loss

**A/N: **Thank you everyone for the reviews! As you can see I ended up making this into a story (because of your great input!) which I hope you like. I must warn you though, the story may go a little bit slow because I want them to little by little develop their feelings. I just think that it would be too strange for them to 'suddenly' fall in love.

I hope they are not too OOC, call me on it when it happens, I want to keep it as real as possible. But if there are any discrepancies between the story and the TV show do keep in minds that it is a story and anything could happen (mwahahaha!)

(should I change the title? Suggestions are greatly appreciated)

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing but the plot. _If only Tom Welling was mine…_

**Loss**

It had been a year since Clark and Lois' failed wedding, courtesy of the evil Darkseid, but now things were going back to normal. Mostly. Well, there is nothing abnormal about putting off the wedding till "the time is right" or so did Lois say. There is also nothing strange with the fact that somebody was pregnant. So… things were normal, just in a different way.

"_Positive_." She saw the pregnancy test and could not believe her eyes, so what the doctor had told her about a month ago was true. Not that she didn't want kids, she did, but maybe right now was not the best time. She had taken up her position as Watchtower again (all the begging and puppy dog eyes from many of the members actually worked) , to help the Justice League in their various activities. She had re-applied at the Planet realizing that she had never let the dream of becoming a top shot reporter she had since a child die away. She was helping Emil with research involving heroes and meteor rocks, also the League was growing and she had to make sure everyone maintained their dual identity a secret, so hacking into archives of various cities and governmental institutions was part of her daily routine.

Oliver wasn't ready to be a father either, they were only in their mid-twenties and well he had taken a lot of responsibilities as a hero, he also had a company to run, which was by no means an easy task. Yeah, now was probably not the best time to become parents, but the idea of having a little being inside her somehow made her really happy and warm inside.

Her cell phone rang, it was Lois, "Hey cuz, you have to come to the Planet, it's an emergency!" her voice sounded urgent. The blond quickly gathered her things and headed towards the Daily Planet. She arrived at the Planet and went to the bullpen, but the lights were off and it was to dark to see anything. She heard a _BAM_! and the lights flickered on.

"Congratulations!" she heard many voices say. She recognized many of her previous co-workers and Lois who was approaching her with her arms wide open.

They hugged, "What did I tell you cuz, you were destined for this job." Lois then, went to get the 'congrats!' cake.

"She's right you know," Chloe heard a soft whisper behind her, and smiled, she knew that voice all too well. "You belong here. I'm just scared for my job now, having such fierce competition such as yourself, it'll be hard for me an Lois to keep up." He said jokingly.

Chloe turned around and hugged her best friend, "You better be scared, I might even become Lois' new partner in the near future." What she really wanted to say was '_I hope we become partners in the near future'_ but would never dare say it out loud. Their embraced linger a little longer than it should have, and as Lois watched the scene, she began to feel a little uncomfortable. She was well aware of Chloe's feelings in the past, but that was years ago, besides her cousin was with Oliver now, so she brushed those feelings away.

The celebration was short lived because Perry said they all had worked to do, and when you worked for the Planet, there was _always_ work to be done. Since it wasn't Chloe's official day of work, she thanked everyone and took a big chunk of cake with her, too bad Oliver was out. Oh well, more for her. When she pressed the button for the elevator, her right earring began to blink, she knew what that meant, she got into the elevator and touched her earring, "This is Watchtower," before the doors closed she felt a breeze.

Clark also pressed the little communication device that was in his ear, "This is Superman,"

Batman spoke into their ears and said that there were signs of an unknown force combined with radioactive activity in Metropolis and that there was some havoc being caused by Toyman in downtown.

"We're on it." They answered in unison. Clark changed in what was probably three seconds tops, and asked Chloe to keep his clothes for now, that he would pick them up later.

She nodded and went to her Watchtower base in Metropolis, (there was one base in every city a hero resided, and of course the Justice League's Headquarters in DC) Before she entered the base there was an explosion that came from the building in front, which sent her flying away and hit her back with a brick wall. Debris from the explosion came flying her way, she clutched Clark's garments and waited for the inevitable, one piece hit her in the head and left her unconscious, the second hit her in the stomach.

{x}

She could here a beeping noise and tried to open her eyes slowly, for some reason she felt sore all over. She also felt a hand holding hers and thought it was probably Oliver and smiled at the thought. It wasn't him.

"Clark?" The last thing she remembered was heading to Watchtower to look up the radioactive activity Batman had warned them about. "What ha—" she tried to sit down, but felt extreme pain her lower abdomen, she winced. Nonetheless, she was able to sit.

"Hey," he said softly, the look of concern on his face soften a little when he saw her wake up, but when she winced he cursed himself for not being there to protect her. "how are you feeling?" it was a dumb question, but it was the best he could come up with.

She gave him the how-do-you-think-I-feel? Look and crossed her arms against her chest, "If I had been ran over by a truck, thrown down from the Empire State, and had a one-on-one combat with Wonder Woman, I would feel pretty much like I do right now." Ah, her snarky comment made Clark crack a smile, that was Chloe all right.

She looked at her surroundings and realized that she was in Metropolis Medical Center, she was also looking for someone else.

"Oliver is in Europe right now, he said something about Queen Industries and a merger," Clark knew how to read Chloe like a book, "Lois had to fly to Africa today after your welcome party so she was unable to be here."

She tried to stand up but the pain in her lower abdomen became too intense and she had to sit back down. Clark took notice and recommend that she lay down instead, but she didn't listen. He never let go of her hand, and stroke it gently, if only he had been there sooner. She smiled up at him, she had cuts and bruises all over, her hair looked like a mess, but in Clark's eyes she still looked lovely, "I'm sorry Chl—"

"Don't." she interrupted. " I'm okay, really. Besides, this could've happened to anyone." She placed a hand on his cheek, "You do too much already."

The doctor came in and looked over some papers that were over his clipboard. "Hello Miss Sullivan, Mr. Kent," he didn't look directly at either Chloe or Clark. "Thankfully, you are not in any critical danger Miss Sullivan, and after two weeks you will be as good as new." He took off his glasses and sighed. "Unfortunately, I'm sorry to inform you that…" he paused.

Chloe knew, she _knew_ what he was going to say and tears instantly welled up in her eyes. Why was this happening? Why? Was it because she wasn't ready? This was probably divine punishment for her thoughts early in the morning. Suddenly she was unable to stop the tears and they began trickling down as if there were no tomorrow.

Clark was worried, what was the doctor going to say that made Chloe react that way? It must be something really bad because Chloe never cried, _never._ Unless it was a life or death situation, but other than that Chloe was one of the strongest persons he knew. He instinctively squeezed Chloe's hand in sign of support for whatever news she was going to receive.

"… we were unable to save the baby."

The words broke her heart and her silent sobs turned into loud cries. Before it got any more emotional, the doctor excused himself and left the room.

Clark was stunned to hear the news, heck he didn't even know Chloe was pregnant to begin with. He looked at her and the sight in front of him broke his heart as well. Here was the strongest woman he knew, his rock, his strength when things got tough, his counsel and comfort every and any time he felt down. Here was that woman that pushed him to be a 'hero', his best friend of all times. Here was Chloe Ann Sullivan… broken. He took her in his strong arms and held her tightly –as tight as he could without crushing her with his superstrength.- He was at a loss of words, this was one of those situations where '_everything is going to be ok_' was nothing but a lie. He rested his head on top of her and some tears escaped his eyes. Although he valued human life more than most humans did, what made him shed those tears was the fact that a woman he loved dearly, as a friend, was suffering. He couldn't bare that, he just couldn't.

Last time, when Jimmy had died, he left her.

This time he would **not** make the same mistake.

She cried for what seemed hours, but in reality it had only been a couple of minutes. Her sobs started to die down, and her tight grip on his shirt had loosened a bit. She pulled away a little, but not enough to break the embrace. She looked up at him with her red and puffy eyes that had yet to stop streaming with tears.

"Pl… please do… don't tell anyone," she was chocking on her own sobs. He cleaned one of her stray tears with his thumb. "Not Ollie… not Lois."

He nodded slightly

.

.

.

She had kept his secrets all those years ago. Today it was his turn to keep her secret.


	3. Encounter

**A/N:**I apologize for the delay. I was debating on two things but got that resolved now. This chapter may get a little confusing, but if you have any questions please let me know.

Thank you for the reviews!

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing but the plot. _If__only__Tom__Welling__was__mine__…_

**Encounter**

"Thank you" Chloe walked into the Kent's residence, which had been empty for quite some time.

"No problem Chlo," answered Clark, who took her bags inside. "My house is your house, you know that." He left the bags on the floor. "Are you sure you don't want to go to your place?" which translated to _your__huge__mansion__with__Oliver_.

She shook her head, "He won't be back until a couple of days. I already told him I would stay here and that I was fine." She sighed, "This place was, and still is, like a home to me."

He went to the kitchen to make some coffee for Chloe, trying his best to make her feel better.

She decided she wouldn't cry anymore and took the cup of coffee Clark was offering her. "You're a great friend." She said barely above a whisper, but he heard her anyway.

"I wasn't always." It still haunted him, all of those times he had failed her. When he took Lana's side over hers, when her marriage with Jimmy had gone to the drain and he hadn't been there to support her, when Jimmy died and he left her. There were so many times when he could have been a 'great friend' but had not been. Now he knows better, he has matured since then. He grabbed her hand, "Now it's different. _I_ am different. And I can promise you that from now on I will always be there for you."

She looked at him, and sighed "You do know I don't want your pity, right? That's the last thing I need."

Typical Chloe, "It's not pity Chlo. I care about you and I want you to be happy."

"I don't know Clark, losing your baby doesn't really make people happy in case you haven't noticed."

"I know. I'm sorry." He stayed quiet for a few minutes, but did not let go of her hand, "You know Chloe, I'm sure you will be a great mother."

Her eyes began to get watery, but she had promised not to cry, "How would you know? Maybe I'm not fit to be a mother and that's why…"

He placed a finger on her lips, "Don't you ever say that. Maybe now was not the right time, but I know that you will be a great mom, believe me."

They hugged, she didn't believe Clark just yet, but knew that maybe someday she would. "Thank you." She whispered once more.

Clark's comm link began to blink, "This is Superman," he answered without letting go of his best friend. It was AC, aka Aquaman, asking how Watchtower was and rapidly moved on to business. Apparently, a petroleum plant in China had exploded and was damaging not only the sea creatures, but also the locals who lived near the place. "I'm on it."

"Superman never gets a break, huh?" she let go of him and walked him to the door, "Go be a hero."

For some reason he never got tired of hearing her say that, it wasn't an ego boost or anything (okay, maybe it was) her words made him want to be a hero, be _her_ hero.

"I'll be back." He said before flying away.

{x}

After Clark left, she went inside and threw herself at the couch, wondering what to do. She would never tell Ollie, she didn't want to break his heart. She didn't want to tell anybody really, but she was sure she could not go on and pretend it never happened. Pretend she never lost her unborn child. Just when her life was beginning to get back on track. Finally working for the Planet once again, helping as Watchtower, looking over superheroes… she should have known that she could not have everything she wanted. When has that ever happened?

She didn't have Clark's love all those years ago. She didn't have her mother. She didn't have her dreamed job for quite some time(until now)-

She heard a knock on the door, "_Who__could__it__be?_" She grabbed the nearest lamp and went to the door. She heard the knock again. The lights were on, so it was obvious that someone was home, when she opened the door…

"Clark?"

{x}

Where was he? He was flying so fast that he really didn't pay attention to where he was going. Not that it mattered, he couldn't live with himself anymore. Much less looking at Lois and remembering the choice that he made. He should not have listened to Chloe, now he is paying the consequences. Today it would be a year after _that_ happened, and he couldn't go on. Not anymore. Nobody blames him, he knows that. But that doesn't matter to him, he only knows that he will never see her again, never.

Suddenly, he sees a flash and feels that something changes around him. He stops. It's Metropolis, but somehow it feels different.

_Thump. Thump._

He knows that heart beat.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

It can't be. He follows the heartbeat and it leads him to the Farm, his old home. He hears it even louder than before. He stops in front of the door and knocks, the lights are on. Strange. He knocks again, not daring to open the door and realize this is all an illusion.

The door opens slowly…

It's her! It's Chloe! She's still alive.

"Clark?"

He can't help but pull her to him and embrace her.

_"Chloe, I've missed you so much."_

{x}

"Chloe I've missed you so much?"

"You were only gone a couple of minutes." She said casually. Was he that worried about her?

"Minutes? What are you talking about?" he let go of her gently wanting to make sure this wasn't a cruel mind trick.

"Clark, I'm going to be fine you know." She took a look at him and rose a brow, "What happened to you? I didn't think China was that bad." His suit was ripped in some places and his hair was a total mess, his cape was half its length, it would seem he had just fought Bizarro.

His appearance was of no importance to him, "Oh Chloe I can't believe you're here." He grabbed her face and brought it close to him. "It really is you." His minty breath caressed her cheeks.

She blushed slightly, "What is up with you? You leave for less than an hour and you act like you haven't seen me in forever." She pushed herself away from him.

"I haven't seen you in a year." He said solemnly.

"Clark are you okay? It's still 2011, you know."

He looked at her and smiled, finally understanding what had happened, "I'm from 2015."

.

.

.

"2015?"


	4. Future

**A/N**: Thank you for the kind acceptance to this story (My first Chlark). Hopefully you like this chapter as much as I did.

**Special****thanks****to**: _whatweareafreaidof__,__anonymous__(5),__Chlark__Forever,__Lilbit4,__Snookie16,__the__Uchiha__Queen,__Daniel1973,__abhinke4u,__triniredster,__fiona91,__saphire131_. For taking the time to read and review!

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing but the plot.

**Future**

"2015?" This had to be a joke.

He nodded.

"Wait. Are you the Clark Kent from my reality? Because I've heard that there are alternate universes and all of that stuff." She couldn't just trust the guy, he could be some kind of Bizarro for all she knew.

He chuckled, typical Chloe, "It's me. The Clark from this reality, _your_ Clark." He looked at her with a warm smile; he had missed her so much.

She smiled back, but proceeded with her questions, "So… if you're _my_ Clark," it made her heart skip a beat at saying '_my__Clark__'_, "How exactly did you get here? As far as I know time travelling is not one of your abilities."

"Well… I was flying faster than usual I guess—"

She interrupted him, "Faster than usual? What was the trigger for that? I mean you are 'faster than a speeding bullet', how fast can you get?" she eyed him curiously.

"Uh." How could he explain? "Well, I, uhm, something happened." She opened her mouth but he continued before she asked, "I can't tell you about it. The whole time-space continuum and stability of the universe would be at stake if I did."

She nodded, but her journalistic instincts kicked in anyway, "Say, how do I know you are the real Clark? You say you are, but you don't honestly believe I'm gonna buy that without proof, right?

Of course she wouldn't. "Ask me anything. I'll prove it to you."

"Tell me something only he would know?"

"Well," he meditated for a while, "You're addicted to coffee."

She rolled her eyes, "Anybody with eyes knows that."

"You have always wanted to be a reporter for the Daily Planet…"

"Everyone knows." She smiled. "Try again."

He was silent for a moment and glanced around the house, it hadn't changed in years. "What day is today?" he asked out of the blue.

"December 1st,"

His impeccable memory was put to the test and he remembered exactly what had happened on this day. He went over to her and hugged her gently, "I'm so sorry Chlo." He whispered, "About your baby… I couldn't sa-"

"Stop." Tears welled up in her eyes, but she refused to cry, she only hid her face on his broad chest. "I believe you, you _are_ my Clark, the Clark I've known since I was fourteen."

It hadn't been his intent to make her sad, but he had to make her believe him somehow. What he regretted the most was his inability to save her the grief of losing her child, he could only imagine how that felt, and he was sure he wasn't even close to the real pain. Nevertheless, he was glad she believed him now.

They embraced for a while longer until she broke the embrace and wiped a tear from her cheek. "So, Clark from 2015, tell me about the future?" she inquired with an exaggerated cheerfulness, a mechanism she used to hide away her sorrow.

He looked at her with an indescribable feeling, "Chloe you know I can't say much about the future." He was afraid to alter it too much, however, there was one thing he had to change completely… her fate.

She rolled her eyes at him, "Ok. I'll ask some questions and if you can answer them without causing a rupture in the universe," she joked, "then you'll tell me. Deal?"

He nodded in agreement.

"Did I win a Pulitzer already?" her eyes were shining with excitement.

He smirked, "Ambitious much?" she never changed, "Yeah you did. Two actually."

She squealed, something Clark rarely got to see. "Ok, Ok, now tell me who wins the presidential elections on 2012?"

"Can't say. You don't even vote, why do you want to know?" he rose an eyebrow at her.

"Curiosity…" He still looked at her suspiciously, "fine. I run some bets with the people at the League, and we'll I gotta beat John this time around."

He rolled her eyes at her. How come nobody ever told him about these things? Probably because of his Boy Scout status.

"Okay this is the million dollar question," she looked at him with a mischievous grin, "Did you finally marry Lois?" she intended it as a joke, but his serious demeanor surprised her.

"No."

She was going to ask why, or make a witty remark about it, but his intent gaze stopped her from doing so. "Well. Uhm. How's my relationship with Oliver four years from now?" It was better to change the subject.

That was a hard question. Should he tell her what happened… probably now was not the best time. He didn't want to add insult to injury by saying to her '_Well,__Ollie__and__Dinah__had__an__affair,__and__now__they__are__married__and__she__'__s__expecting__a__child__'_ the same day she lost her baby. He didn't want to lie to her either…

He snapped his head towards the door, "He's coming." He murmured for himself. "Chlo, don't tell anyone that I am here." The world was already at risk with her knowing he was here. Before he sped away he gave her a peck on her cheek and told her they would see each other soon, but for now, nobody could know of his little time traveling trip.

Soon after Future Clark left, 2011 Clark came in through the door seconds after, "You would not believe the mess we had to clean up." He was wearing his average work clothes instead of the Superman-suit. "Oh by the way, Lois sent you this," He handed her a tribal necklace, with beautiful colored rocks adorning it, "She said it was a good luck charm or something, that the natives gave her…" he stopped and looked at Chloe strangely, feeling slightly uncomfortable by her gaze.

The snarky blonde didn't pay much attention to anything Clark said, she was more concentrated on examining him and how different he was by his older counterpart. This Clark still held some boyish features, while future Clark was sharp from all angles, even the way they spoke were slightly different. What Chloe was most amazed by was by their eyes, even though, they were both the same person, Future Clark looked at her differently. He looked at her with admiration, and care, she could even dare to say _love_, not the romantic kind of course.

"Why are you looking at me that way?" he rose an eyebrow at her.

As if a spell had been broken she blinked hard, "What? Oh. It's nothing." She smiled at him and turned around before he pressed the issue. She didn't want to keep secrets from him, but if Future Clark said not to tell anyone, then she would not, even if that meant himself. "So, how did the cleanup go?"

{x}

He flew out of the farm without leaving a trail behind. Fortunately for him, he knew that his counterpart of this time could not actually detect him, it was something he had learned from Jor-El a couple of years ago. The AI had told him that because two Clarks could not exist in the same reality they had a strange effect on one another; it was as if he didn't even exist. However, that didn't mean that others couldn't sense him.

"Kal-El?"

Superman stopped on his tracks, he knew that voice all too well. "John,"

"You are Kal-El, but at the same time you are not. Who are you exactly?" He stood in front of this Superman, without malice and waited patiently for his response.

"I am Kal-El," he smiled at his friend, "from the future."

.

.

.

"This ought to be interesting."


	5. Orange

_**A/N**: This is my first post of the year! (Curse my obsession with Chlark at the moment). _

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing but the plot.

_**Side-note**: I hate what FF does to my formatting, darn it! _

_Enjoy_!

**Orange**

"So you are saying you are Kal-El of the year 2015," both of them were still in the skies. Superman of the future only nodded, "How did you get here?" as far as he knew Kal-El could not time travel, maybe time travelling was a new ability. No, that couldn't be, none of the Kryptonians he had met had this ability.

"I'm not sure," he crossed his arms around his chest, "the last thing I remember was flying…" he trailed off and decided not to specify on what he was 'flying' away from, what he did know however, that he was flying as fast as he could. Nothing had mattered to him anymore, and he couldn't live with himself knowing that he couldn't save Chloe. He had _chosen_ not to.

"I see." He knew there was more to it than what this Superman let on, but knew better than to use his powers pry into this Kryptonian's head. "Why are you here?"

"I came to change the future."

"You do know the dangers of doing that, right?"

"More than you can imagine," but he _had_ to change the future. Somehow he managed to travel into the space time continuum and land in time to prevent the events from the future from happening.

Coincidence? He didn't think so.

{-}

"I swear Ollie, I'm fine really," she said for the umpteenth time to her fiancé who had just returned from a business trip a few hours ago.

He was still very much worried for her, but she seemed fine overall just some scratches here and there, "I'm sorry for not being here baby," he held her tightly against him.

"It's okay. This was just one of those dangers that are written in the job description," She gave him a peck on the lips, "so how did your business go?"

"Queen Enterprises are doing a lot better in the market, and Dinah has proved to be a great assistant who knew?" he joked.

She laughed a little, "See, blondes are greatly underestimated,"

"Amen to that, we are living proof."

"Ollie," she looked at him straight in the eyes, "what was the radioactive material that was found?"

"John and Bruce think it's some sort of meteorite from outer space…" he trailed off.

She raised an eyebrow inquisitively, "is it by any chance kryptonite?"

He sighed, "It looks like it."

"Does Clark know about this? What are the side effects of this one? What if it's like the golden kryptonite-"

He grabbed Chloe by the shoulders, "Calm down baby. No, Clark doesn't know about it yet, we want to figure out what it is and what it does first. John and Bruce are using the technology available to see the possible side effects _without_ testing that thing on Clark. It's orange so I doubt that it has the same effects as the golden one."

She pondered and the information for a little bit, this was something she had to discuss with future Clark later, "I see."

He kissed her and offered her his hand to walk towards the limo, "Is my intrepid reporter ready to get to the Planet?"

She took his hand and smiled, "As ready as I'll ever be."

{-}

"Yes Lois, I'll tell Chloe that you will be back in a week," he smiled at the brunette's rambling. "Yes, Love you too."

The elevator doors opened, revealing a beautiful blonde dressed in a black pencil skirt, red blouse and matching red pumps. Many of the DP's staff greeted her happily and she beamed at them with her signature bright grin, it never failed to bring a smile to Clark's lips. She stopped right in front of him.

"Hello Kent," they shared a handshake.

"It's good to have you back Chloe," he pulled her in a tight embrace.

"I'm happy to be here, although I will miss the Star City Post." They let go and walked toward their desks which were next to each other.

"You were meant for the Planet, you know that."

"Kent! Sullivan!" roared the voice of Perry from behind, "You're not here to play catch up, I need you both to head to the Wayne and Queen Press Conference,"

"You're partnering us together?" Chloe's hand motioned from her to Clark and then back again to herself.

Perry nodded, "Lane won't be back till next week, and you two work well with each other," he winked at them.

"Really chief?" asked Clark a little too happy.

"Of course kid. You'll learn from her."

As Perry left, Chloe stifled a laugh and Clark stood there with feigned hurt playing across his features.

{-}

Bruce Wayne and Oliver Queen stood side to side at the podium of Metropolis Conference Center and answered the questions asked by the press about their upcoming projects together and maybe merge the companies in the future. Chloe and Clark arrived at the press conference a little after it had started and shared secretive glances with the hosts of the event. Although, one question did make the Daily Planet reporters turn their full attention to both of the hosts, waiting for their answer expectantly.

Surprisingly so, it was one of the Inquisitors reporters that posed the question, "Mr. Wayne, Mr. Queen, is it true that you plan to use the radioactive material found at the center of Metropolis for your bio technology research?"

Chloe looked at Oliver who instantly had gotten slightly nervous, and Clark had looked at Bruce who tensed his jaw at the question but answered politely, "Nothing of the sort. The radioactive material has nothing to do with our research at the moment," although, they were in fact studying the orange kryptonite but for different purposes other than the bio technology research.

Clark had forgotten all about it, he was still oblivious to the fact that the 'radioactive material' was some sort of kryptonite that he had never come in contact with. However, he did wonder why this material was something that would make Bruce and Ollie react the way they did and by the looks Chloe had on her face he was sure she was wondering the same thing.

"Chlo, has Ollie mentioned anything to you about this?" he whispered at her to which she shook her head.

"No," she didn't want Clark getting involved in any of this yet, "it's probably nothing." She said dismissively.

"_Clark from 2015 probably knows something about this, but how can I contact him…"_ she thought to herself.

Clark's super-hearing kicked in and Clark said to Chloe that he would meet her back at the Planet because someone needed his help. The press conference ended and Ollie and Bruce refused to answer any more questions and went inside their respective limousines.

{-}

Chloe went to a café that was a couple of blocks away from the Planet. She had her laptop open and was doing her research on Wayne and Queen Studies of the bio technology development. In a blink of an eye and a 'whoosh' a man she knew too well dressed in a black jeans and a blue shirt, with black shades covering his eyes sat in front of her.

"To what do I owe this honor?" she asked playfully, knowing full well which Clark this was.

"I missed you," he smiled at her and ordered coffee for him.

Somehow the comment made Chloe feel unusually happy, not that current Clark wasn't nice to her but, there was something about his future self that… unsettled her in a good way.

"I wouldn't know about that since I was with 'you' a couple of hours ago," they both chuckled, "can you take those shades off? You look weird." She was reminded of the time he was on red K for some reason.

"Uh," he wasn't sure that was a good idea what if someone recognized him, how would Chloe explain to Clark that he was with her at a coffee shop when in fact he hadn't been with her for the better part of the afternoon. "What if someone recognizes me?"

She thought about it for a moment, "Yeah you're right."

An idea flashed through 2015 Clark's mind, "Do you like France?" he left a few bills on the table and dragged her out of the place and into an alley. "Hold on tight" he carried her bridal style and she hid her face in his chest, the super speed travels always messed up her hair and she didn't like that. In less than a minute they were both in Paris, France.

"Is it safe to open my eyes now?"

He chuckled, "Yes," he took the shades off.

"Much better," they said in unison.

"Why are we here Clark?" she asked as she was placed on her feet.

"I needed to talk to you in a place where we could be ourselves," he offered his arm to her, which she took gladly. In reality he just wanted to spend some time with her, something he wasn't able to do in his past because he was so busy with other things, work, patrol, Lois… He didn't value Chloe as he should have, not until she was gone. _You don't realize what you have until it's gone_. He read that somewhere and couldn't agree more.

She wasn't exactly convinced because she could've talked to him with the dark glasses on, but hey not every day you got a free trip to France with your best buddy so she wasn't complaining.

"I ran into John and had to explain to him why I was here," he said out of the blue.

"So Jones knows," he nodded, "I have to ask you Clark," they sat down on a bench of a French park, "why is it that your present self can't… sense you or hear you? I mean you have super hearing and all that right?"

Chloe could never keep her inquiries to herself, one of the things he loved about her, "Jor-El mentioned to me once, that time traveling as complex as it is it has one factor in common,"

"and that is…?"

"Since we are the same, uh, person we repeal each other."

"Does that mean you can't come into contact with that Clark of the present?"

"No. If we happen to run into each other nothing catastrophic would happen," hopefully, unless he opened his mouth and said things he ought not say, "but we can't detect our own heart beat or voice. Those abilities don't work on each other."

She nodded, "Makes sense, I think."

He laughed, yeah time travelling could be confusing boy does he know it. He stood up and bought ice cream for both of them, "What exactly did you want to talk about Chlo?" he offered her the vanilla-strawberry ice cream cone.

She took it happily, "Right," lick, "do you know anything about _orange_ kryptonite?"

He furrowed his brows, "Orange kryptonite?" how did Chloe know about this? He only learned about it a couple of months ago in his time, which would have been in about 4 years from now. "How do you know about it?"

She shrugged, "It was the radioactive material I was going to check out…" on that fateful day in which she lost her unborn child. A knot formed on her stomach and her eyes got slightly watery but she suppressed the tears, "Ollie and Bruce are using the technology at hand to study it and its effects."

He stood up quickly and was very upset, "They _knew_," he murmured to himself and unconsciously crushed the ice cream cone in his hand.

"Are you okay?" she stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Their eyes met and he relaxed a little but hugged her tightly, _"I lost her because no one told me anything about that thing,"_ the stupid orange kryptonite along with Lex's scheme was what made him lose the one person that understood him best in this whole world.

She patted his back not really understanding what was going on with him, "Whatever it is Clark, you know we'll get through it." That's how it had always been between them despite the strains in their relationship in the past.

He pulled away just enough for them to still hold one another and look into each other's eyes, "I'm sure we will," his voice was barely above a whisper. He was about to say something else when Chloe's phone vibrated.

She broke the embrace and pulled her phone out, he only watched her, "Its Clark," when she looked up to see future Clark they both chuckled, "we have to come up with some code name to differentiate you both,"

"Call me Bernstein," he gave her a meaningful look that took them both to their old Torch days, "Woodward."

She smiled, "Bernstein it is," she read Clark's text, man her phone company didn't lie about their world wide coverage, who knew? "I think it's time to go back Bernstein, Clark said he's on his way to the Planet and we don't want him getting suspicious,"

He swooped her up in his arms and super-sped them to an alley near the Daily Planet, "We have arrived my Lady,"

She punched him playfully and started walking away but turned around to ask him something that had been on her mind since this future Clark had stumbled into her life.

"Why are you so different from the present Clark, if you're one and the same?"

He quirked a brow, "What do you mean?"

She placed a strand of her blonde locks behind her ear, "you treat me different… why?" their eyes met once again.

At first his eyes widened, but then he smiled in a way that was so warm and yet heartbreaking at the same time; he began to float getting ready to fly into the skies and just before he disappeared out of sight Chloe heard…

.

.

.

"Wouldn't you like to know."

{x}

_What do you think the effects of this orange kryptonite are? (I wanna read some suggestions people!)_

_I decided it was better to reply to reviews! (I'm quite fond of it actually)_

_Thank you everyone that has read this story, and additional thanks to those who took and take the time to review._

_**Chlark**: Oh, don't hate on poor Ollie he hasn't done anything yet. Lol. Thank you for reading!_

_**nakala**__: Nakala! Glad to see you here too (yes, I'm working on __**I Wish**__ too, I promise to update soon). Now that you mention it I do seem to over complicate things… why is that? I wish I knew._

_What exactly are you confused about? (I can PM you to clarify whatever inquiry you may have)  
><em>

_**saphire131**: Awww! Thank you for reading, it makes me feel beyond ecstatic to have people like you read AND review a story of mine, for that I could never thank you enough. Well as you can see from this chapter and future ones, Future Clark (Bernstein) will be very VERY nice to our Chloe and maybe… well you'll just have to wait and see.  
><em>


	6. Friends

_**A/N: **__I apologize for the long wait… I must say though, that I like this chapter because it goes a little into Chlark repairing their friendship.___

_**Disclaimer**__: I own nothing but the plot._

**Friends**

It was a late night at the Planet, and even though most of the staff had already left to their homes, there was still a pair of reporters under the tiffany lights that were working intently… on catching up.

"No way! You actually said that to Lois!" This was beyond funny.

"Well, yes. She was being her old nagging Lois," he made a funny gesture with his hands to emphasize his point, "It was a dumb question, I was surprised by it."

"Remember the old days when she didn't know how to use spell check?" they both started laughing. "Don't tell her I said that though, she would have my head for it."

"My lips are sealed. Unless…" he paused and looked at her with a mischievous grin, "I happen to want to blackmail you in the future."

She crossed her arms around her chest and gave him a look, "You, blackmailing me? Impossible. I have more information on you than your mother," she placed a hand on her ear, "blackmail who again?"

He rolled her eyes at her, "Fine, you win this one."

"Don't I always." She shrugged and looked at her watch, "I think it's getting late now and I don't want Ollie to worry." She stood up and Clark did the same.

"I can take you if you want?" he offered kindly.

"No need, I'm sure Superman has better things to do than to take me home." She smiled and headed towards the elevator.

"You know Chloe," she turned around, "Superman may have a world to save but Clark Kent really wants to take his best friend home." He scooped her up and didn't give her time to hesitate.

"You do know I can take a cab, or even call Ollie to come get me, right?" It felt so nice being this close to him, but she didn't want to feel that way. Fifteen year old Chloe might have had a crush on farm boy Clark, but not this Chloe Sullivan, she couldn't.

"For once just enjoy the ride,"

She sighed in defeat, "Fine. Let the Kent Express get on it then, I haven't had my coffee since three."

He still wondered how someone this small could boss him around so much.

Strangely enough it didn't bother him one bit.

{x}

"Sullivan! Kent!" they were both called to the office of Perry "The Bulldog" White.

They both hurried to his office, "Yes, chief?" They answered in unison.

"I need you two to go to Washington and cover the Justice League's Press Conference, if you can get a one on one interview with members of the League that would be even better." He gave them their itinerary, and dismissed them.

"If I were any other person, this may be exciting, but I see the League every other day." She chuckled.

He joined her, "Look at this as a free vacation." They were riding on the elevators towards the exit.

"Coming from a man, who can be anywhere in the blink of an eye, a free vacation is more of a commodity than a luxury,"

"Look at the bright side, you'll be reunited with Watchtower," the name of the most powerful computer in the world, which also happened to be named after her (her hero identity though).

She sighed like a schoolgirl, "Oh, yes. The wonders of the most advanced technology available." She rubbed her hands against each other like an evil mastermind.

They walked outside of the building with the golden globe. An ambulance passed quickly in front of them and the two reporters shared a look.

"What are you waiting for Man of Steel?" she smiled at him and he did the same.

"I'll see you soon, Miss," he had already dropped his voice an octave.

He made sure no one was watching and then supersped away. Chloe smiled at the empty spot where he was only instants ago; she felt happy, just like in the good old days where it was only Clark and Chloe against the world, or the meteor freaks, but whatever. She didn't want to admit it, but she had missed this, their friendship.

{x}

She finished up the article Clark and her were working on, and decided to email Lois and see how she was doing. The brunette had yet to communicate with her or Clark for the past three days.

She and Clark had already finished with their article on Wayne and Queen Enterprises, so she decided to go to her favorite coffee shop that was right around the corner of the DP, to get her much needed caffeine dose of the day.

"Fancy meeting you here stranger," she heard from behind, and her best bud of the future gave her a cup of coffee just the way she liked it.

"Seriously Clark, I mean Bernstein, who teaches you those phrases?" She took a zip of her delicious drink, "You do know we are in the twenty-first century right? Nobody talks like that anymore."

He chuckled, "Hey, I think I can talk whatever way I want to madam. I am a hero am I not?"

She just rolled her eyes, "What do I owe the pleasure of your magnificent presence?" she asked mockingly.

They both took a seat on one of the outside tables of the coffee shop, "I missed my best friend," he said in all honesty.

"Can't say I missed ya, I've spent plenty of time with Clark Kent this past few days."

He chuckled, "I know."

"So, what really brings you here?" she was on investigative-reporter-Chloe mode.

His face took a serious demeanor, "I came to warn you,"

"About?"

"About that orange kryptonite, I know what it does."

"Which means, that you have already been exposed to it?" She deduced quickly.

He nodded, "Just make sure my younger self never gets close to it. There will be dire consequences if he does."

Chloe was silent for a few minutes, thinking about the possible effects of this new kryptonite and was about to ask 'Bernstein' more about the subject, when he spoke.

"I have to go, people need me." they both stood up and looked at each other right in the eye, "I know you have a lot of questions now, but I'm still not sure I can answer all of them. I've tampered with time before and the outcomes have never been favorable."

"I know, but—" he took her hands in his.

"Trust me."

And just like always, she did.

{x}

Clark had been out for the better part of the day, so Chloe focused on polishing her articles and doing some research and updating her hero database from her laptop of course, no other computers were safe but her own.

"Still here Sullivan?" asked the chief, who was just about ready to call it a day.

"There's always work to be done White."

"That's the spirit. I wish there were more reporters like you kiddo." She was about to protest about being called a 'kiddo' when she was 25, but then again the Bulldog White surpassed her greatly in age, besides the elevator doors were closing.

She smiled at the retreating figure and shook her head. She heard her cell phone vibrate and smiled at Ollie's picture that popped up on the screed, "What's up honey?"

"When are you coming back babe?"

"In a few minutes, I'm almost done here," she could totally picture him finishing up his training and wiping some sweat away from his forehead just about now.

"Those 'few minutes' better be no more than half an hour?" he said mockingly. He knew her all too well; she could live her life working at the DP and was a hard core perfectionist wherever her articles were concerned.

She laughed lightly, "Fine, no more than half an hour I promise."

"That's what I like to hear, love you."

"Love you too." And then she hit the 'end' button.

"Aww, cue the cliché love song now," said Clark as he walked into the bullpen.

"Remind me to make fun of you whenever you get romantic with my cousin." She shot back, "Oh wait, you don't even have a romantic bone in you," she would know.

"Hey! I resent that!" He pretended to be offended. Chloe threw a pen at him in response.

"You should learn from Ollie,"

"Just because I'm not a billionaire doesn't mean I can't be romantic."

"It's not the money big guy, it's the charm." She said playfully.

"What!" he said in mock horror, "Just so you know, the Kent charm has worked on many ladies," he said with pride.

She rolled her eyes, "Right. Sure, whatever you say Clark."

"It's true!" he was acting like a little kid and he knew it.

Chloe inspected him for a while and followed along with his little game, "I don't know, farm boy Clark had this cute and innocent charm about him," she pointed at him, "but I don't think reporter Clark has any charm whatsoever."

"Oh really?" he challenged with a mysterious gaze that made Chloe think she had crossed the line. He took off his dark rimmed glasses and placed them on her desk while taking careful steps toward her.

"Absolutely," she couldn't help herself from saying.

.

.

.

"We'll see about that,"

{x}

_No guys, don't start getting any ideas, let's keep this PG-13, lol. I hope you liked it!_

_**Chlark**__: That's nice of you to say. Thank you for reading!_

_**Whatweareafreaidof**__: Oh I can totally picture that too! That would be hilarious *takes quick notes* Great idea… Thank you!_

_**Nakala**__: Me likes him too. Yes, I've read some of Cat's stories (Awesome stories by the way!)  
>No he is not stuck, even though he doesn't know how to get back he's not really stuck in the present(?). Although, he's trying to save Chloe that's not his time travelling trigger, and at risk of spoiling the story… he will go back to his time (kind of). So Future Clark will not hook up with Chloe (not exactly) so don't worry about present Clark he won't be kicked out of the picture. As far as to how long can they hide from each other… not too long, that's all I'm going to say. <em>

_It's alright, I don't mind the questions really, because you will have to read to find out how everything plays out, but now you have more information on it. _

_Great suggestions I'll try to see if I can incorporate them somewhere. _

_Thank you for reading!_

_For more questions please contact me at 123-456-7890 (JK)_

_PM me!_


	7. Realization

_**A/N: **I apologize for the long wait… I must say though, that I like this chapter because it goes a little into Chlark repairing their friendship._

_**Disclaimer**: I own nothing but the plot._

**Realization**

"We'll see about that," there was a predatory look on Clark's gaze that made Chloe shiver.

She gulped, "You know what?" she turned around and sat on her chair to proceed with her article, "No need to prove me anything, I'm sure you must have _some_ qualities, if not Lois wouldn't be so attracted to you," she laughed nervously and pretended to read some notes.

He only looked at her curiously, and for some twisted reason he enjoyed watching her this flustered, but he didn't understand why. He walked slowly to her desk and leaned on the edge waiting for her to look at him, which she obviously didn't do.

"Personal space Clark," she said, "Are you done with your article anyway? I don't need you going alpha male on me, alright?"

He chuckled, "I'm not doing anything," he pushed himself off her desk, "I just want you to admit that I have 'the charm'" he said with air quotes.

She rolled her eyes at him, "Seriously? What are you? Five?" she shook her head and went back to her article. Why was she getting all nervous and shaky, in front of Clark of all people?

"No but—"

"Nothing, just go on with your article," she demanded as she typed away furiously on her computer. Hopefully that would distract Clark from her erratic heartbeat.

"Just admit it," he insisted.

Chloe typed.

"Admit it," he repeated a little annoyed now.

Chloe typed.

Clark sighed in frustration and turned around, which Chloe assumed meant that he was leaving. Clark super-sped away, and once he was out of sight Chloe stopped typing and exhaled a breath she wasn't aware she had been holding. However, her relief was short lived because as soon as she exhaled Clark had gripped both sides of her chair and lower himself to be mere inches from Chloe.

"Admit it," he whispered and she felt his minty breath caress her skin.

They were looking at each other eye to eye and it would seem that they were statutes from the lack of movement and the silence surrounding them. Chloe, who had been holding a deadly glare against her friend slowly softened her features and looked at him in a way that made Clark nervous.

"Why?" she whispered back, not knowing what to say or what to do. This was wrong, twisted, even immoral or at least that's how she felt it. Chloe knew that if she pushed Clark away more than likely he would retreat, but she couldn't muster that energy.

She didn't want to.

"I don't—" he was interrupted by the vibration of Chloe's cell phone. Both still held each others gazes but neither moved nor spoke. The phone kept vibrating and then Chloe decided to answer without taking her eyes away from Clark.

"Hello?"

"It's been half an hour Chloe?" said Ollie in a whiny voice that he would only say to her.

"Really? I'm on my way Ollie so don't worry about it,"

"Alright, I'll wait a while longer. If you don't get here soon I'm going to have to kidnap you," he warned mockingly.

"Of course," was her only reply and she slowly gathered the strength to break eye contact with her best friend. "Good bye Ollie," she focused on her screen that was full of the rubbish she pretended to type earlier, "I love you," she whispered before pressing the 'end' button.

She pushed Clark away from her very gently, she knew he would get the hint and retreat. He stood up and placed his glasses back on, however, he didn't look away and kept studying her. She gathered her belongings and looked for her coat because today would be one of the coldest nights of Metropolis, but as luck would have it she completely forgot where the darned coat was. Clark sensed that she was missing something and quickly figured out what that was. He took of his Jacket and placed it on her shoulders softly.

"Clark there's no need—" she was about to protest but he quickly countered.

"Yes there is, we're below thirty-two degrees here and it's cold Chloe, I don't want you getting sick,"

"But Clark—"

"My decision is final, and no argument you give will make me change my mind, besides I don't feel the cold so don't start with 'what about you?'"

She sighed in defeat and headed for the elevators, without waiting for him because their last encounter had not been forgotten. She pressed the elevator button waiting for the doors to open, in less than a minute the doors had opened and she stepped in.

"Chloe," she heard him say, and only looked up at him waiting for him to continue, with her finger ready to press the "Lobby" button. "I apologize for acting… strange right now," he really had no other way of describing his odd behavior.

She watched him silently not sure if she should be relieved or not by his apology, "We both had a long day let's attribute our behavior to that, okay?"

He didn't say anything and just looked on as the doors closed.

{X}

"I'm home!" Chloe announced as she closed the door and took her heels off. "Ollie?" the house was surprisingly quite, only the TV on the background was heard.

As she entered the room she shared with Ollie she saw him asleep holding the remote and smiled, "I made you wait too long, huh?" she gently caressed his handsome face. "You're such a kind and loving man," she said softly, however her face showed some sorrow and regret, "I wish I could love you the way you deserve…" she said barely above a whisper.

Her cell phone vibrated yet again and was very happy to see the picture of the caller, she pressed the "Accept" button and stepped outside of the room. "Hello? How are you stranger? What? I understand." She stayed silent for a moment then continued, "Good luck!"

This was definitely unexpected, surely Bernstein knew more about this. Will he be willing to tell her?

She went to the balcony outside of the guest bedroom it really had a great view, the best of the house in her opinion, although Ollie differed. She rested her chin on her hands and pondered on the recent events. More than anything she wanted to know why Clark travelled from 2015 to this time, why was he here? What was he trying to prevent from happening? Why does he refuse to tell her?

Either he was really concerned about her knowing somehow altering the future in a negative manner. Which she really didn't believe, she was pretty good about handling difficult situations and him showing himself to her meant that he trusted her, right?

The second option was that whatever happened had something to do with her, which seemed very likely in her opinion. Then she remembered…

_"What is up with you? You leave for an hour and you act like you haven't seen me in forever." She pushed herself away from him._

_"I haven't seen you in a year." He said solemnly._

He had said he hadn't seen her in a year and from the way he said those words she definitely wasn't out on vacation. Then it hit her…

.

.

.

Chloe Sullivan dies in the future.


	8. Revelations

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but the plot.

**Revelations**

Chloe had been dozing off for the last hour, and that was something that worried Clark. If anything, Chloe was always concentrated in front of a monitor, or at least she pretended to be. However, for the last hour that had not been the case. Sure she would type a paragraph or two, but then she would get lost in thought and have that faraway look that meant she was worried. He let it slip for the first half an hour, but it was time to do something about it. Their desks were very close to each other so he called her name softly but received no response. He did it again. No response.

"Chloe!" He raised his voice to the point where everyone in the bullpen turned and stared.

She on the other hand, barely acknowledged him, "Oh, Clark, what is it?" she asked still unaware of everyone's stare.

Clark was very uncomfortable under everyone's scrutiny and this time had the sense of lowering his voice, "Uhm, its lunch time."

Chloe looked at him for various seconds with the '_is that all you wanted to say, really?_' face, but then she saw how everyone was still watching and took the hint, "Ah, yes, wanna grab a bite?"

He nodded and both gathered their belongings and walked to the elevator.

"Is everything alright?" He asked.

She gave him _that_ smile, "Everything's fine," that fake smile that only fueled his concern. He would give her credit though, she almost, _almost_, convinced him of everything being okay.

They went to a nearby coffee shop that was just around the corner from the Daily Planet. Clark went through possibilities for Chloe's state; she didn't look distressed or upset, just pensive. Not that being pensive was necessarily a bad thing, but something nagged at his insides to investigate the reason for her preoccupation.

As they sat down he noticed how she did a quick intake of air before she spoke, "So what's up? You didn't really bring me here because you were hungry, did you?"

He shook his head, "No, I brought you here because I want you to tell me what's wrong," he said making direct eye contact.

She shrugged carefree and took a sip from her coffee cup, "I already tol—"

"Don't even try," he warned, "Is it because Lois and her extended trip? Because I can take you with her if you want," he offered.

She gave him a small smile, "As much as I miss my dear cousin Lois, if anyone should be upset about her 'extended trip,'" she made air quotes for emphasis, "it should be you."

"Well clearly I am not as upset about it as you," he bit his bagel, "I do miss her though,"

"Of course you would, she's the love of your life and all of that good stuff," she said with a dismissive wave.

A few minutes of uncomfortable silence followed. Clearly Clark was not being fooled, but it was more than obvious that Chloe did not want to talk about whatever was bothering her.

Clark took her hand and caressed it softly, "Did something happen at…home? Is Ollie giving you trouble? Because I can definitely have a talk with him,"

Chloe wasn't sure if Clark was joking or not, it certainly didn't look like it but then again it was Clark so she would take it as a joke, "Not at all," she laughed for a few seconds and then remained silent for a few more. She took her coffee cup in her hands and stared at it as if it were the most impressive object of human history. "Clark, can I ask you something? And promise me that you'll be completely honest about it," she didn't make eye contact. She didn't need to; her voice alone was warning enough of the seriousness of the question.

"You can ask me anything," he said sincerely.

She lifted her head and looked at him with solemnity, "Remember that time when I… asked you to bring Jimmy back?"

By pure instinct he clenched his fists under the table, but remained with a cool exterior, "…Yes, I remember," before he added _'and I explained to you why that was,'_ she continued.

"I remember very well what you're reasoning was back then, and I'm sure it's the same now," He nodded in response, "my question is; would you go back in time to save someone else?"

"Look Chloe if you're implying that I didn't care for Jimmy that's not—" He raised his voice and was quickly interrupted by Chloe.

"No, Clark that's not what I meant. I know you and the high value you place on everyone's lives," she tried to calm him, "but what if someone from the League died?"

"Is anyone in danger?" He asked quickly.

"What? NO," If he would just let her explain, "Just hear me out okay," He looked at her wary but nodded nonetheless, "And this is just a scenario okay," he only looked at her in response, "what if… I," She breathed in again, "What if I died, would you go back in time to save me?"

He was definitely surprised by that. His eyes were wide open, and if he didn't know any better he could have sworn that his heart stopped for a second there. She couldn't be serious now, could she? "Why are you asking me this?" his gaze was so strong it made Chloe wonder if he was trying to somehow read her mind to get answers.

She nervously placed a strand of her behind her ear but quickly regained her composure, "I just… well, I was just curious," she chuckled nervously, "but don't take it to heart alright, it was just a question" she tried to dismiss it in her Chloe fashion, but Clark wasn't going to let it go that easily.

His face turned serious and his voice was solemn, "To answer your question," he began, "I can tell you this, Chloe Sullivan doesn't die," she was a little surprised by his statement and wondered why Clark felt that way about her death. Clark must know that she was exposed to death like any other human being, "_and_, if by whatever twist of fate that would happen," he continued. "I would make damn sure to bring you back."

{-}

Future Clark, aka Bernstein, was patrolling the world not only because he felt it as his duty to do so, but also because he needed to find the source of his future misery and solitude. However, he was very careful whenever he did a heroic act mainly because he didn't want anyone, particularly anyone from the League, to know of his little trip to the past. He heard an outcry from many people in Egypt and sped off that way. Dressed in black jeans, red T-shirt, and a black trench coat in addition to his silver shades he saved the people from an imminent sand storm that would surely devastate the village he approached. He super-sped the people away from the storm and used his superbreath to counteract the ever approaching sandstorm.

"_Shukran_" shouted the crowed in awe of their superhero. He said that there was no need to thank him and helped with the reconstruction of the parts of the village that were damaged. He was so entertained helping the people that he almost missed a heartbeat that was approaching.

"_Lois_," He had forgotten Lois had been assigned to Foreign Affairs and was somewhere around Africa, he hadn't thought of her being in Egypt though. He quickly said his goodbyes and made a hasty exit, not without asking the people of the village to keep secret his intervention on the matter, to which all of the villagers agreed.

When Lois Lane arrived to the scene she knew that something had happened. The village was nowhere near as obliterated as she imagined it would be from a direct sandstorm hit. She was even ready to call out the League to help out with the reconstruction if it seemed necessary, but that was definitely not the case. It looked like the village hadn't even been hit at all, and that was strange… very strange.

She asked the interpreter that accompanied her to ask the villagers what had happened and the interpreter did as asked, but he returned with no answer. He said that the villagers were prepared for the sandstorm and worked on the small damages that were left, but that no serious harm was done and everyone was alright. That didn't stop her though, she quickly made her way to interview the villagers trying to see if anyone would budge under her questioning, but everyone had the same story. Not one villager said anything different than the other. Having no evidence of the opposite she departed, with a nagging feeling that something _had_ happen, yet no one was willing to tell.

Bernstein, let out a quick sigh of relief and watched with a content smile how Lois retreated. Oh Lois, she sure had changed a lot from when he first met her. Back then he would've never imagined wanting a relationship with her, but as luck would have it, she almost became his wife. He was glad, however, that their wedding never occurred or else he would have lived with the guilt of loving someone other than his wife for the rest of his life. All in all, he was glad to see Lois now; she looked a lot happier than the one from his time. Lois from 2015 was a devastated woman, living with perpetual guilt just like him. Nevertheless, he knew that if he had made a different choice, if he had chosen to save Chloe, she would have never forgiven him. _That_ he would have never been able to live with, with her constant reproach and those accusatory looks.

He was pulled out of his reverie when he heard Chloe whisper, "_Bernstein_,"

{-}

When Clark had left for League business and Chloe Sullivan was left to follow a lead and governmental corruption, she decided it was a good time to call her friend of the future and ask for some explanations. _Bernstein_ had a lot of explaining to do and if his time travel escapade had anything to do with her death, he would not hear the end of it.

"Bernstein," she whispered, hoping that he would hear her as one time he had claimed that she only needed to say his name if she ever needed him to hear her. Less than 10 seconds later she felt a _whoosh_ behind her and knew instantly that he definitely heard her.

With a wide grin that showed his perfectly white teeth _Bernstein_ said, "Chloe, what do I owe the honor of —" he was abruptly interrupted by her.

"Save it, _Bernstein_," she hissed and narrowed her eyes at him, "why are you here?" she asked with a dangerous tone of voice that he only heard from her when she was very, _very_, upset.

"What do you mean?"

She let out a frustrated groan, "If you tell me that you're here to prevent my death or some BS like that I will kick your butt with a kryptonite boot to the future," she said trying to keep her voice level low because they were in an alleyway, which albeit not transited a lot, it wasn't completely secluded from the city.

He gulped, "Listen Chloe, there is a very good reason for me being here," he tried to look confident and strong, he was Superman for heaven's sake, but he couldn't deny that she intimidated him a little…okay a lot, "you weren't supposed to die, that's why I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen," he said slowly, hoping that she would understand.

She crossed her arms around her chest, "Clark, you more than anybody should know that everyone is exposed to death, particularly members of the League, which includes _me_ in case you've forgotten," she furrowed her brows to emphasize her discontent, "as much as I appreciate you trying to save me, you are not supposed to do that,"

He sighed and looked up at the sky and then back at her debating whether to tell her the truth or not, "Chloe, you were not supposed to die okay," he said once more, "I… it was my fault I could have saved you and I didn't" he finished with an indescribable sadness.

It was then that Chloe understood, he was feeling guilty, typical Clark, "It wasn't your fault," she said softly, all her earlier anger melting away. She stepped closer and caressed his check with all of the empathy of the world, that only she could display, "I would never blame you Clark, and is long time you do the same," she raised her other hand and took his face in her hands, "you have to understand that you can't save everyone not even me."

He almost cried at her understanding, "You don't understand, this time _it_ was my fault," in a gesture of pure affection he also took her face in his hands, "you have no idea how much you mean to me, I can't bear to lose you again," he ended with whisper. His blue-green eyes met her golden ones, and for a moment both of them lost themselves in the eyes of the other.

"Why?" she said aloud, although that had not been her intent.

.

.

.

"Because I love you,"


	9. Mission

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but the plot.

**Author's Note:** I can't thank you enough for your vast support, and for putting up with me… you guys are the best!

**Mission**

"Because I love you," he said with all the sincerity held within his heart, and tried to convey the emotion with his eyes as well.

Shocked and confused Chloe pushed herself away from him, "No, no, no," this can't be happening, she was questioning her initial assessment about this man, maybe he _was_ from another reality altogether, because the day that Clark Kent would say 'I love you' to her and not some tall brunette with the initials L.L. that day hell would freeze over. "Who are you? Why are you saying this to me!?" she raised her voice not able to control the anger that came upon her.

He stepped forward and held her gently by the shoulders, "It's me Clark, your Clark. The Clark you've known since eighth grade," He heard her heart rate spike, and her breathing hadn't settled any, "I know that it's… strange, hearing me finally say this, but it's true." He searched her eyes with his own.

"It can't be. You and Lois are written in the stars remember?" Why was this happening? Why now? She had Oliver now, and he loved her. Sure, they didn't have the most traditional or romantic start, but they had reached a comfortable place in their relationship. Then there were Clark and Lois, who were madly in love with each other, she could see it in their eyes. She would never forgive herself if she caused any of them to be hurt. "Lois is your destiny. Not me." She gentle removed his hands from her shoulders.

He looked hurt but at the same time he understood where she came from. Deep down he knew that she had feelings for him, had had them for a long time, and he blatantly disregarded those feelings for a long, long, time. Maybe it was what people called karma, it was prime time that he was the one that was on the receiving end of an unrequited love. "I know, how I was in the past, and I know that _I_ believed, and made _you_ believe that Lois was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with but–"

"Stop," she held one hand up. "Just…no." She chuckled mirthlessly, "I got off the Clark-go-around, a long time ago. So whatever it is you were thinking, the answer is: no." A sad smile graced her lips, "I suggest you go back to where you came from, I'll warn Clark about the kryptonite –but it might not change anything." She whispered the latter.

"Chloe, I…you may not believe me, I understand. But," he paused and looked at her with determined eyes, "you will not die. Chloe Sullivan doesn't die."

She started walking away from this mess. This was the last thing that she needed, she was happy now, and if she said it sufficient times she would one day believe it.

"Chloe, I _know_ you're worth the wait."

{-}

"Something's fishy around here," murmured Lois as she rode her camel to the next city. There was a story here, she knew it. Those villagers were hiding something and she was going to figure it out, she wasn't Lois Joanne Lane for nuthin'.

"I'm ready for a pit stop, aren't you?" came the voice of her partner.

Lois grunted in frustration, "Hell yeah, this heat is killing me." She eyed the new village suspiciously, oh yeah there was a story to be told here. "Hey White, don't you think it's a little strange that nobody has gotten hurt with these recent natural disasters?"

He chuckled, "Would you rather people get hurt? Maybe it's just a miracle," though he had to admit it was strange that there had been no hero intervention and yet people were unharmed.

"Miracles…" Nope, she didn't buy it. Well Clark may know what's going on, after all Superman had an ear everywhere, the point was that she was sure something was going on here. "Hey is there any way I can make a long distance call around here?"

"I have Skype on my phone Lois, and my reception is quite decent around here," Her partner handed her his phone and gave her instructions on how to use it.

"You really come in handy," she said while logging in. "Hey Smallville," even though they've been together for some time, she still loved to call him Smallville.

"Hello Lois," said Clark from the other side of the screen, "what a surprise," he mentioned with a happy grin.

She smiled too, "Yeah, well, uhm," she excused herself from her partner, "I think I'm on to something over here Clark,"

He looked at her quizzically. "On to what exactly?"

She looked at her partner in foreign affairs and saw that he was talking with their translator, "I'm not too sure, but I think there may be some guardian angel lurking around here,"

"Guardian angel?" that was quite surprising since no one has brought it up at the Justice League and he hasn't heard anything in the news.

"Yes," she said slightly irritated by the heat, "There's no confirmation or witnesses that anyone or anything is helping, but I know something's going on." She wiped some sweat from her forehead, "I'm thinking this person is a hero,"

"A new hero, huh?" She saw Chloe pop up next to Clark, "what makes you certain that there's a new hero out there Lo'?"

Happy to see her cousin she continued, "Well people have been saved, though no one admits to it apparently," she said the latter with annoyance. "Anyhow, I'll keep an eye over here, and I'm not leaving without my story damn it!" she said with determination.

Clark chuckled and Chloe smiled while shaking her head. Gosh they loved the brunette. "Just take care of yourself Lo'"

"You'll see," she smiled, "Well I'll get back at you all, White and I are ready for lunch." And with that she logged off.

{-}

Later that evening Clark started on some research on anything odd around the world. He wondered who could this new person be, he was certain that there were other super-powered beings around the globe that he had yet to meet, but for there not to be any witnesses? Maybe Lois was bluffing and she was making a story where there wasn't, which wouldn't surprised him if this had been the Lois from years back. However, she was now a recognized professional, and he trusted her judgment.

"What do you think Chlo?" he asked casually.

She had a faraway look as she stared out the glass window, but answered nonetheless, "I think Lois is on to something, but I'm pretty sure this mysterious hero does not want to be found," she took a sip from her coffee. "Maybe we should just leave him alone,"

"Him?" He eyed her suspiciously. Did she know something? Even though, she looked surprised at Lois' news, is it possible that she knew more than she let on?

She sighed tiredly, "Him, her, it doesn't matter. The point is that this person doesn't want to be found and we should respect their wishes. At least for now, don't you think?" she looked at him with expectant eyes.

He stood up and walked towards her completely ignoring her question, "Is everything alright?" he held her by the shoulders and met her eyes.

"I'm fine." She smiled weakly at him. "What do _you_ think about this incognito hero?" She quickly averted her gaze and sidestepped him.

He maintained his composure and knew that something was bothering her. Whatever it was that was going on, it has been going on for a while, if her recent behavior was any indication. Since she was not open about it, there would be no other way to do this than through a little investigation of his own.

"Well," he began, "I don't see why this person would need to hide, since the Justice League has already gone public," he understood better than anyone what it was to keep your identity hidden from the public and live with the fear of rejection or straight out hatred. However, now that the JL has been established, recognized worldwide, and above all is accepted, there should be no reason for heroes to remain in the shadows, "maybe he just needs time,"

She scoffed, "Time,"

{-}

"Mission accomplished green lantern." Watchtower said through the intercom. It had been a few days since her last encounter with the Kryptonian of the future. Certainly they hadn't left in the best of terms, and to this day she was still upset over the stupid things he had told her. Poor Clark (of the present) had been suffering the consequences of her anger; they talked sparingly, and only due to Clark's constant efforts.

"Watchtower time for debriefing," Batman said behind her.

They both walked to the conference room and saw that the senior members of the League were already seated. Among them, the one and only, Superman who stared at her with piercing blue green eyes. She easily avoided him and sat the furthest away from the man.

"There have been sightings of a dark blur all over the Middle East and parts of Africa," The Batman said without hesitation. A hologram of pictures showing that particular blur appeared in front of them, "though the people from those places have denied all of it. Our satellites confirm that this blur has in fact been in those places,"

"Why do we care about this?" Ollie questioned.

"Because there had been irregular radiation readings in those exact places," the monitor now showed the readings, "these readings mirror the ones generated by the explosion in Metropolis a while back," Oliver looked at Bruce while Clark looked at Chloe; they all had their reasons for remembering that day. "I fear that this being may have something to do with this,"

"I doubt it," Chloe quickly interjected and surprised all but one Martian Manhunter, who also had a good idea of who this blur may be. "I've followed the news of the Middle East for some time now, and if anything that blur has been helping the people of the area since mysterious natural disasters have been plaguing the East."

"That may be, but bottom line is we need to find this person,"

"I would like –"

Chloe quickly interrupted Superman, "I'll do it." Everyone at the table turned towards her, "I will find this person and get the necessary intel,"

"Definitely not," Olli objected, "we don't know how dangerous this person is, you could get hurt."

"I agree with Oliver," Superman said in his commanding voice, "we do not know anything of this being and you are not skilled in the field,"

Chloe felt rather insulted by the remark, "I'll have you know that I've trained with Diana and−"

"In any case," Bruce interrupted their childish banter, "you shouldn't do it alone Watchtower. Superman and Arrow are right in saying that we know nothing about this person."

She understood their concerns and knew that there was no way they would allow her in the field unprotected, "I would like for Manhunter to come with me,"

Superman and Arrow gaped at her, clearly shocked by her choice. Since when were Chloe and John on such friendly terms?

"John," the caped crusader looked at him waiting for his reply to the 'Tower's proposition.

"I have no objection. I will accompany you Watchtower,"

"It's settled then,"

The meeting was adjourned and a few left the room immediately. Chloe knew what she was getting into, she was almost certain that the 'blur' was a future friend of hers. She almost wondered why he was stationed in the Middle East and then she remembered that Lois was there, so certainly he stayed with the intent to protect her. Ha! The nerve of that man, he said he loved her and goes off to trail behind her cousin.

"Chloe what has gotten into you?" Ollie admonished, "Chloe you are not trained to be in the field like the rest of us,"

She sighed tiredly, "Look, I know I'm mainly behind a monitor here, but I'm no less capable of handling myself in the field than the rest of you okay,"

"You have little to no experience on one to one combat," he pointed out.

She smiled sideways, "Care to prove that for yourself?" she had neglected to tell Ollie of the extensive training she had with Diana and Bruce.

He grabbed her by the shoulders, "I don't want you getting hurt, okay?" concern was clearly written in his features, "you're my wife and I want you to be safe."

She raised her hand and caressed his cheek, "I know you're worried, but I promise you I'll be fine," she raised her head and pulled him slightly to him and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips, "stop worrying about me."

He kissed the top of her head, "I don't think I ever will."

Superman was walking to his chamber with a solemn look. He had been confused by Chloe's sudden indifference towards him. One day they were eating Chinese takeout and laughing away, the next she could barely look at him in the eye and avoided him at all costs. He didn't remember doing anything to her, and they were on their way of renewing their friendship. What had changed?

Then she decides it's a good idea to meet up with a strange being with powers out of the blue. Chloe rarely stepped foot outside of the 'Tower, if anything, she only accepted missions in Metropolis. And she chooses John to protect her? Clearly he, the Man of Steel, was the best candidate to be by her side and protect her, that's what he's been doing his whole adolescence. He was ready to tell her as much, when he saw Ollie pull her to a corner of the conference room. It was strange how it still bothered him to a certain degree the relationship of the blonde archer with his best friend. It was just a tiny little feeling, but it was there nonetheless, nagging at him.

{-}

"Watchtower," the Martian spoke, "I believe we both know who is the mysterious blur of the East," he walked beside her.

She nodded, "That's why I requested you for this mission," she stood behind the metal doors waiting for them to open, "I think it's time the time traveler goes back,"

They stepped into the chamber and waited to be teleported towards the coordinates of where the super man had last been seen. "I am not too certain he will leave just yet," he looked at her intently, "I do not know why or how he came here but I am sure he has a purpose and if he has not left there is a reason for it,"

Chloe felt exposed under his gaze, though she knew that he would not read her mind without her permission, she still felt he could see right through her, "He _has_ to leave,"

John said nothing more before both were surrounded by a white light teleporting them to their destination. They were now surrounded by sand and an unbearable heat. They made their way to the nearest little town that was visible in the horizon. The Martian offered to take her making their way quickly towards the town, but she politely refuse, not one to abuse any kindness.

Meanwhile in Metropolis, Clark was typing away an article on city hall. It was ironic how for the first time ever he was the one making up an excuse as to why his partner wasn't at work. He still couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened to have Chloe upset at him, but for the life of him he just didn't know what it was. He was also thinking about the mission to the Middle East. He still worried about her and John; he used his concern as an excuse to listen in on his friend. He closed his eyes and searched for the sound he knew better than his own: Chloe's heartbeat. Ah, there it was steady and soothing just like he remembered. Then he opened up the range and listened to the Martian's heart too. Finally, he tuned in on their voices.

"… _I am sure he has a purpose and if he has not left there is a reason for it,"_

"_He _has_ to leave,"_

"_Perhaps it is not his time yet, but rather it is time for him to reveal his purpose,"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_We both know that his appearance in this time is not a mistake."_

"_Whatever his purpose is, he can't be here and change things at will. He needs to understand that he isn't God and there are things he can't change," _He heard the frustration in her voice.

It dawned on Clark that both the hunter and Chloe knew who this person was. Where they talking about the mysterious blur? If so, why had neither mentioned it to the League? What is this purpose he was speaking of? He continued his invasion of privacy.

"_I take it he has already revealed his purpose,"_

He heard Chloe's hurt speed up. She was nervous.

"_John he-"_

She stopped and he heard a sudden gust of wind around them.

"_You are in big trouble," _

"_The League is investigating the blur of the East,"_

Clearly John and Chloe were talking to someone but he couldn't hear another heartbeat or another voice for that matter. What was going on?

"_You need to go," Chloe demanded. "You need to understand that you can't save everyone!"_

Chloe was shouting at whoever was there. He wondered if the person was a threat.

"_I shall leave you both alone to solve your… differences,"_

What? John was leaving? He was leaving her _alone_? Not on his watch. He stood up quickly and ran towards the door.

"Kent is my article done?" came Perry from behind.

"Uhm, I just need to verify a source sir,"

Perry arched a brow, "Verify? Clark I need that article yesterday! Make it happen," and with that he left.

As soon as he stepped into the alley next to the Planet he super-sped towards the Middle East. He was a few miles away from Chloe and whoever she was speaking to. He squinted his eyes and focused his vision on her, seeing her the same way as if she was right in front of him. He looked at the stranger from behind he was of the same build and complexion as him and he had a similar hairstyle, if anything it resembled more his Smallville days rather than his combed style that he wore regularly to the Daily Planet. He was intrigued by why this person wore a maroon jacked in this heat, and some hideous sunglasses. He perked up his hearing again.

"_Don't give me that crap again!"_

As soon as he saw that the man grabbed her by the shoulders he made his way to them and placed a hand on the stranger's shoulder. "Don't you dare," he murmured dangerously.

"Clark?" she opened her eyes wide in surprise and shock. "What are you doing here?" 

The stranger stood still and gently released the woman.

"Who is this man?" Clark also released the stranger and completely ignored her question, "you have a lot of explaining to do, both of you,"

"Clark he is…" Chloe trailed off and looked at the other man for approval.

The man said nothing he took a step forward and was now next to the blonde he turned slowly towards the confused reporter and took his shades off ever so slightly.

"Hello Clark,"

Clark stood in shock as he looked at the very same eyes he saw every day in the mirror. A clone? A phantom? A mirage?

"What the he-"

"Clark meet, uhm, Clark," Chloe said uneasily.

The older man looked intently at his younger self, wondering why he had been so stupid all those years ago. "Well, I can't say it's a pleasure to meet you," he placed a possessive arm on Chloe's shoulder.

Clark almost glared at the action; it was ridiculous for him to feel uneasy about himself. "Who are you?"

The eldest Kryptonian resisted the urge to slap some sense to his younger self, "It's pretty obvious don't you think?" He practically mocked him.

"Clark, I know you want to know what's going on, but you know how this time travelling thing is." Chloe interjected.

"No Chloe, I clearly don't know. Do you?" He accused.

"No need to get rude with the lady,"

Clark crossed his arms across his chest, "Please, save it. Both of you need to explain _now_. Are you really me? And what is this about going back? Why are you here?"

.

.

.

"I'm here to take Chloe."


	10. Explanation

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing for the plot.  
><strong><br>Author's Note: **Thank you so much for your support.

**Author's Note 2**:I wanted to clarify something in response to **CharmedNightSkye** review: Oliver and Chloe are in fact married. I'll correct the earlier chapter accordingly. Thank you for pointing it out.

**Explanation**

"I'm here to take Chloe,"

What the hell was this man saying! Clark couldn't even process those words, "Excuse me,"

His elder self sighed tiredly, his younger self could be so obtuse at times, "I said –"

"I know exactly what you said!" the Kryptonian said exasperated and took Chloe by the arm with a little more force than he intended.

The older man glared at his younger self, "You hurt her," he practically hissed and was ready to take Chloe back when his twin placed himself protectively in front of her.

"You can't take her, Chloe belongs _here_,"

In actuality, Bernstein, aka future Clark, meant to say _'I'm here to __**save**__ her'_ but for a strange reason he said he was here to _take_ her instead. He'll figure that out later, right now he only needed to win Chloe back from his younger –stupid – self. "Chloe belongs with **me**." He said solemnly.

Before Clark responded, with the maturity of a two year old 'She's mine!' Chloe stepped in. "Enough you two!"

They both turned to look at her, "I've had enough of you both. First of all, I belong to no _one_, got that," they both nodded, "second of all, _you,_" she pointed at Bernstein, "need to go."

"But –"

"No buts, you've caused enough trouble as is,"

"_Yeah, that's right, __**you**__ need to leave buddy,"_ Clark thought with satisfaction, yet the smug grin he sported was short lived.

Bernstein closed his eyes and nodded, "Okay, I'll go," he took a step closer to the petite blonde and bent his head to level his mouth with her hear, "for now."

Before he took off, however, he took the opportunity to kiss her quickly. It was a chaste, sweet, and promising kiss. It was _him, _the wiser and much more mature Clark Kent, who at the end of their little banter left the scene with a smug grin of his own.

Clark stared incredulous at the scene, un-freakin-believable, who was that stupid, son of a gun, doppelganger of his? And how dare he kiss Chloe! "What just happened?"

Chloe shrugged, though her faint blush was quite evident, "beats me,"

"Actually, you're the one with the answers I'm looking for,"

"About that…"

"Watchtower," John's voice came from the distance, "Kal-El," he acknowledged the man, "there is nothing for us here, I've already searched the minds of the locals," he cleverly refrained from saying that the locals had in fact seen the Kryptonian of the future.

Clark looked at the Manhunter with a questioning look, "So you're saying that you have no knowledge of my doppelganger globetrotting and saving people around this area,"

_Busted_, "Kal-El, it is not my place to share this information with you. It was not a secret for me to tell," the Martian turned to Chloe, "Shall we leave Watchtower? We have a report to draft,"

Chloe nodded and started to walk towards the Martian.

Oh she wasn't getting off the hook _that _easily. Clark captured her hand and pulled her towards him quickly taking her into his arms bridal style, "I'm sure you can handle that report on your own," and with that he flew away.

{-}

"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded angrily as she punched his chest with just enough force not to hurt herself.

He lowered her gently on the grass and looked at her intently, "You're not off the hook. And I'm still waiting for an explanation," he crossed his arms around his chest and held her gaze.

This is just great; her day couldn't get any worse. She grimaced, it was best she stopped tempting fate, "You know there is not much I can tell you. You more than anyone has warned me against time travel and the repercussions that come from knowing too much," she stood up on her own and dusted herself.

"I know that, but I'm sure there is _something _you can tell me,"

They had a stare down contest for a while. Both of them were relentless, yet Chloe knew she had to give Clark something at the end of the day. She walked towards the edge of the lake and Clark followed suit.

"He _is_ you," she muttered under her breath, knowing that Clark would here her crystal clear, "he's not a doppelganger, Clark-wannabe or anything like that," she sighed and look ahead, "that man is you Clark,"

Clark stared at her profile, "Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said without hesitation.

"How do you…"

She turned to him and smiled, "I just _know,"_ she continued, "he hasn't been here too long, in case you're wondering. By the way, he specifically asked to keep this from you, you (or him I guess) had your reasons."

Silence befell them for some time as the light waves crashed around them.

Clark found his voice once again, and asked her the one question that was hunting him since they're last encounter, "Is it true?" he began, "Did I -did he- come here to take you?" Chloe couldn't leave him, not even for himself. He just could not wrap his mind around that particular concept. Since he first met her, back in eighth grade, he knew with utmost certainty that one way or another Chloe would always be with him.

Always.

Chloe gave him a Mona Lisa smile, "What do _you _think?" She was sure to appease Clark with her words. I mean, come on, why would Clark ever come for _her_ and take her away. If anything he would take Lois, his soul mate, not her, plain old Chloe Sullivan, who history doesn't even remember.

Clark thought he knew himself better than anyone, and if he knew himself the way he thought he did then… well, he couldn't let Chloe out of his sight, that's for sure. His future self would stop at nothing to take her, if that was indeed his purpose. Clark could tell by the possessive way his hand rested on her shoulder and the way he kissed her before he left, that his future self would stop at nothing to take Chloe with him. The question was: why?

Chloe didn't know what to make of his silence and continued, "In actuality Clark, I'm not going anywhere. I'm sure you're way passed kidnapping anyone, least of all me," she tried to make light of the situation, but Clark was nowhere satisfied with her response.

"You can't see him again." Clark practically ordered, using his Superman voice: commanding and powerful.

Chloe stared at him wide eyed, "Excuse me?" Who did he think he was to boss _her_ around? "Clark, you are my friend, and I'd do anything in my power to help you," she said with conviction and determination.

Any other day Clark's heart would swell up at her words, but not today.

"He is my friend as much as you are. It only stands to reason that I help him."

Clark was growing impatient at her resistance. Why couldn't she listen to him at least once? "You were asking him to leave earlier, why the change of heart Chloe?" he asked with a sudden darkness that surprised even him.

"What are you –" She glared at him, "were you spying on me?" she hissed, "You _were_ spying on me!"

Clark wasn't impressed by her outrage, "I was worried about you,"

"Oh, cut the crap Clark," this time she folded her arms around her chest and glared some more, "you have no right to invade my privacy like that. How could you?"

"Don't change the subject Chloe," he glared at her too, "answer the question: why the sudden change of heart?"

"Unbelievable!" she exclaimed and threw her hands up in the air, "Since when do I answer to you?" She rummaged through her pockets and found the item she was looking for, "I'm done here." She was just about to dial Ollie when Clark in one quick move took the cell phone and crushed it in his hands, letting the remains be swept by the wind.

"We're not leaving until you answer my questions,"

Chloe stared wide eyed at the man in front of her, never had Clark been as demanding as he was being now. "You really want to know? Then I'll tell you!" She started poking him in the chest with anger, "I need your sorry future self to get his ass back to the future and leave me the hell alone!"

"Wh-"

"He needs to let me live my life! Whatever there is left of it anyway,"

"What are you –"

"You are not God! You can't save everyone!" Tears were streaming down her face. "Why can't you leave me alone? Why?" she was silently sobbing.

Clark had slowly brought his arms around her petite back. He couldn't stand seeing her so distressed, never could. It was interesting how Chloe's tears weakened him more than the green kryptonite itself. He slowly but surely started processing her words, though she didn't outright say it, he was more than capable to read between the lines: Chloe doesn't exist in the future.

She dies.

Well at least she did at some point, but he would never allow it.

Chloe Sullivan doesn't die.

{-}

Superman deposited the petite blonde gently on his bed, in his quarters at Watchtower, where no one would disturb them. He brushed some of her blonde tresses away from her face clearly marked by the tears she let flow freely a couple of minutes ago. It was strange how Chloe could be calm, utterly irritated, flat out outraged, and sobbing like there was no tomorrow in the span of mere minutes. What worried him even more was the fact that she knew more than she let on, he was sure of it. But what could possibly be worse than knowing she was going to… to… Well he couldn't think of that. Another thing that bothered him, a lot more than it should, was his other self's more-than-friends attitude towards her. He saw it as clear as day the moment he saw her in the dessert, the close proximity between them, despite their arguing, the possessive way in which he placed his arm around her –and she didn't do anything about it! How he kissed her, with little to no opposition on her part, and the way his eyes gleamed as he sped off.

His other self was definitely _interested_ in Chloe.

He was no fool. That man wasn't just interested, he felt a whole lot more for her, he was sure. It was, technically, him after all.

For now, he would let her sleep. He had someone else who could give him answers, and that someone was in the 'Tower. With one sympathetic glance towards his blonde friend he left his quarters and headed to the conference room. Knowing he would find some answers there.

"Kal-El," John turned away from the monitor, "I believe you're not here for a social visit."

"No, I am not," he took a seat next to him, "and I am sure you know exactly why I am here."

The Martian nodded, "Indeed, I know. Although my information is limited,"

"Not more than mine," Superman said a little harsher than intended.

John Jones was not the least bit intimidated by his tone, he had all the right in the world to be upset after all. "Fair enough Kal-El, I'll tell you what I know,"

"Tell me: how did he get here? And what is his so-called purpose you and Chloe talked about?"

The Martian stared at him with intense red eyes, "I know not how did you get here from the future. Neither does your future self for that matter,"

"What?"

"As you heard. What your purpose is… I am not certain, but as you may have noticed it has plenty to do with our resident Watchtower."

Clark nodded, he had figured as much.

"I also know that he came here to prevent an event from happening,"

'_Chloe's death'_ Clark thought grimly.

"However, you are not to interfere Kal-El. I've told your future self as much," The Martian advised.

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked with a frown.

The Manhunter gave him a knowing look, "That man, is after all, the same man sitting in front of me. You are one and the same,"

'_No we're not'_ he wanted to refute, but held his tongue. At an intellectual level he knew that they were both the same person, but at the same time there were remarkable differences.

"Thank you John," He didn't get much information, but it was more than what he knew before.

"Kal-El," John called from behind, "you know from firsthand experience of the effects that are caused by changing the stream of time."

"I know,"

.

.

.

'_Do you?' _Manhunter sent telepathically.


	11. Flash

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but the plot.

**Author's Note**: Here is the next installment of this story, I hope you enjoy it! Special thanks to: _**Nakala, The Uchiha Queen, Simply2184, and badkidoh**_, for leaving a review on the last chapter.

**Flash**

_Year 2015_

It had been nearly a month without any sign of the Man of Steel. It was of great concern to the Justice League to say the least. Batman had almost exhausted all his resources, which was really saying something considering the amount of resources he had at his disposal. Wonder Woman went back to Themyscira with the hope to get some aid from her divine resources –which proved unsuccessful. Martian Manhunter had been on a space mission with Green Lantern, and had yet to return. The Dark Knight was grateful that all the threats they had faced these last few weeks were handled successfully by the League. He was, however, certain that the Legion of Doom would not be fooled by Zatanna's illusion forever. They needed to find him.

Quickly.

"Hey Bats, any luck with Boy Scout?" the voice of Bart Allen, aka the Flash, asked from behind.

"No."

The Flash sped to the Batman's side, "Maybe he needed some time off from Earth? He _is_ an alien after all."

The Dark Knight glared at him, he was in no mood for his silly jokes, "Look if you can't make yourself useful here, then please go to Central City and protect people there,"

"Now, now, Bats that is no way to treat your _amigo_, I'm on monitor duty today anyway," he started typing away and monitoring the globe next to his _friend_. After a long pause he started again, "I'm worried about him too. You mentioned during our debriefing that he was near Smallville before he disappeared. Anything peculiar besides that?"

Barry wasn't one to really meddle into things, not of serious nature anyways. He was extremely upset over Superman's mysterious vanish act, after all there was a time where Clark was like a big brother to him. He searched the globe ten times over just to find him and it was all to no avail. He figured that now was as good time as any to dig deeper into his friend's disappearance.

"Not really. Nothing that could be called peculiar for Superman," they both stayed silent and looked at the monitors, glad that everything was calm –maybe too calm. He vaguely recalled something that was in the readings of the last day recorded for Superman, "Well there was something, not sure if it's important. He broke his speed record, finally went beyond light speed."

Hmmm, so he broke his speed record, that's not really… wait a minute, "You said 'beyond light speed'?"

He nodded.

"Oh boy,"

"What is it?" It's never a good sign when the Flash got really worried.

Barry sighed audibly, "There is a possibility that Big Blue, is nowhere near this galaxy,"

Batman waited for him to elaborate.

"At least not this timeframe to be more exact."

"What? What does that mean?"

The red and yellow clad man took off his mask and looked at the Dark Knight intently, "If he broke the light speed barrier, there is a huge possibility that he time travelled,"

Batman took off his mask as well, they were alone after all, "How come you sound so certain? Is there something I should know? Or the League should know?"

The Flash scratched the back of his neck, quite uncertain of how to continue, but there was nothing else to say but the truth, "Look, is not something that I go parading about but at a certain speed you can break time barriers,"

"Are you saying that…" That was certainly new.

"Yeah," after a beat he added, "I've done it before," not without terrible consequences that he had to fix, but Bruce didn't need to know that.

"How come we didn't know of this?"

"It's dangerous to say the least. Not something anyone should do,"

Bruce studied him warily, didn't quite agree with The Flash keeping this type of secret, though he wasn't one to judge, he had way too many secrets himself. "Look, later I'll ask for all the details and how come none of us knew any of this. Now I really need to know if there is any way to bring Superman back. You've returned, so I'm sure there is definitely a way."

"There is…"

"But?"

Bart frowned, "It's complicated. Ideally, on the few times that I've done it, you need to have a specific timeframe you are thinking about. The same would apply to return to your specific timeframe."

Bruce considered this, "So you're saying that Clark was thinking of a specific time he wanted to go to as he broke the time barrier," Flash nodded, "and he needs to think of this timeframe to come back," he stroked his chin, "it sounds rather simple."

"Well it could be," assuming no one saw you in the other timeframe and you are able to reassemble all of your molecules while you travel, "but there is a huge problem,"

"Which is?"

"We don't know exactly where he went. Considering he's never done it before, not that we know of, he may not know how to come back," it had taken him several tried to finally find his way back to his own time. "All of that aside, he may have not even made it alive,"

"What!?"

The Flash held his hands up in his defense, "It takes a tool on your molecular make up, not anyone can do it. I've been 'lucky' per se, that due to my ability I'm able to reassemble myself as I travel. I want to think that with his Kryptonian biology, he can do the same, but I'm not too sure. He's never beat me in any race before…"

Bruce looked incredulously at the young man. He was almost certain that Superman made it, he felt it in his gut, and he knew of the heroics of the Kryptonian, there was no way that a simple trip in time would defeat him. He remembered how Clark disclosed that he had travelled to another universe, and timeframe and he still made it back unharmed. That was reason enough to believe he'll make it.

"I'm not one to ask this of you –"

"I'll do it." He knew exactly what his colleague was asking, and he would do it in a heartbeat if it meant to bring his friend back.

"We are not even certain of the risks,"

Bart smirked, "I'm a big _hombre_, I know what I'm getting into," he put his mask back on, and the man in black did the same, "the only issue would be finding out exactly where he went, so I could follow,"

Batman turned to the monitors in front of him, "That may be a problem, but there is one thing we know for sure: he didn't go to the future."

The red and yellow clad man nodded. That was something they could be absolutely certain about. In fact, if he was more precise, they both knew that he was at least one year back in time. Though, considering that nothing catastrophic has happened, then again they may not even be aware of the effects of the change. Although, just the fact that they were aware that Clark was missing gave Bart hope that nothing major had changed –yet.

"What are you looking for?" he saw images in the screen constantly popping up.

"At the very least we know he's in the past, and a man of Clark's caliber couldn't really stay in the shadows for long. I'm willing to bet there are a few records with anomalies that can clue us in on his timeframe."

True, why didn't he think of that? Clark had never been known for his stealth.

{-}

_Year 2012_

Darn Perry didn't want to let her stay another month in Africa. He said she had insufficient proof to make a story about the vigilante of the East. Unfortunately, Richard was of no help, there was really no evidence of what she was saying, and no witnesses willing to confess. But there was something going on over there, she was sure. Lois Lane wasn't a great investigative reporter for nothing, but enough of that, she had more pressing matters to worry about. For example, seeing her fiancé that she hadn't seen in weeks. He only went to visit her once. Once! For a man with super-speed, he was very stingy with his travel. Though she, kind of, understood that he was constantly busy, he was the greatest hero of their generation. At least in her opinion he was.

"I can honestly say, I am not going to miss the heat," her companion said with a smile, "I always thought that the Metropolis heat was bad –not anymore."

Lois eyed him funnily, "Yeah, that heat was a killer. You know what else would've been a killer: my story about the vigilante." She said offhandedly.

"Come on Lois, there was no evidence of that, _and_ we didn't come back empty handed," he was referring to a particular story that had nothing to do with the natural disasters they covered.

She considered his words as they hoped into the taxi, "I suppose," their story was almost as good as that of her vigilante. Maybe even juicier considering it related to one of Metropolis finest.

As they arrived towards the Daily Planet, Lois was extremely excited to be able to surprise both her lover and her cousin with her arrival. She didn't even make a stop to drop off her bags at her apartment, she just wanted to see them, the people she loved most in this world. She was just outside the crystal doors when she heard a familiar voice.

"For the millionth time, the answer is NO," Who was Chloe arguing with? It better not be…

"Chloe it's dangerous, quit being so stubborn!" he said in a loud whisper. Of course, it just had to be Clark. Lois sighed, she remembered a time when those two were attached at the hip and practically finished each other's sentences… also in the deep recesses of her mind she remembered a bright eyed girl that was madly in love with a farm boy. She never dwelled much on those thoughts, never wanting her feelings to feel like betrayal to her cousin –all of them had grown and moved on. At least that's how she saw it.

"Clark, quit trying to be my father okay," she had to give her credit, at least Chloe looked composed. Though Lois was sure she was going to lose it pretty soon, if she didn't step in.

"Alright children, quit the yapping momma bear is here," she announced while stepping into the bullpen and making her way towards her cousin and fiancé.

After glaring at each other, they both turned to Lois and smiled brightly, "Lois!" they said in unison, "you're back," Clark started.

"Thank you Captain Obvious," Chloe said dryly and then addressed Lois, "why didn't you tell us you were coming back Lo?"

The brunette shrugged, "I wanted to surprise you all, but I'm the one surprised here," she dropped her bags on the floor, "what's going on? When I left you both were as happy as a kid in an ice-cream shop because you would be working together," she didn't want to admit that it hurt a little to know that someone else could make Clark so happy, "and now you're at each other's throat."

The culprits remained silent for a while, until –predictably– Chloe spoke, "It's just that Clark didn't want me to chase a lead, he says it's dangerous,"

Since when was chasing a lead _not_ dangerous? She raised a questioning look at her fiancé, "Clark you know that any lead could be dangerous, no need to make a big deal out of it,"

Clark looked from the blonde to the brunette, these women would be the death of him, "Lois, you don't understand this is an extremely dangerous situation,"

"I don't know Clark, we've had our fair share of 'dangerous situations' over the years and we've been fine," she turned to Chloe and winked, "as long as it's for the sake of a story she should be fine,"

Chloe smiled triumphantly.

_Oh no she didn't. _"Lois," he looked at her with his most adorable puppy dog eyes, upping the Kent charm, "Chloe could _die_," he said, emphasizing the word 'die'. "I don't want to carry that guilt, do you?"

Lois expression turned to worry in an instant, "Die?" she turned to her baby cousin, "Chloe, maybe you shouldn't…"

"Lois! Don't turn your back on me," she said indignantly.

Lois smiled sympathetically, "I would never. What I was going to say is that you shouldn't do this _alone_."

This time Clark smiled smugly.

{-}

"That little stunt you pulled with Lois was completely uncalled for," Chloe began chastising the man.

He didn't even shrug, "I thought we had established that you were not to see him anymore Chloe,"

Chloe stopped on her tracks, "Clark, don't even start please. I already had enough arguing with you the last time." She completely omitted her arguments with Oliver, who accused her of hiding something from him.

He also stopped and looked at her intently, "I'm still not convinced that the man you call Bernstein is me,"

"I am, and that's enough. John is also convinced,"

They hid behind a dumpster while looking on to their target, "Chloe, we don't know what he may do to you if he takes you with him,"

Chloe chuckled lightly, she was partially glad Lois sat out this assignment due to jetlag, "Come on Clark, you can't honestly believe he would take me with him,"

"I'm not so sure," he mumbled.

Chloe had a difficult time getting it through Clark's thick skull that she wasn't going anywhere. Bernstein, didn't help the matters any when he announced he was here to take her with him. What sick motivation he would have to tease his past self, she may never know.

"Clark he's moving!" she whispered to him, "Come on we're losing him,"

They both came out of their hiding spot and Clark used his x-ray vision to look for the man in question, "There he is, now keep quiet and let me listen in," he activated his super-hearing.

"_I hope your trip went well,"_

"_Oh, it most certainly did. We might need to start with the trials sooner than expected."_

"_I assume it has something to do with the unexpected natural disasters in Africa and the Middle East,"_

"_That was part of the reason, the main reason was the miraculous recoveries from those disasters, and many of our dummy laboratories located in those areas were dismantled to say the least."_

"_So I've been informed. Fortunately our treasure remains intact,"_

"_Yes. It's time for human trials."_

"Human trials!" Chloe exclaimed.

Clark grunted, the men he was observing stood up and were headed towards the exit doors. He picked Chloe up and zipped to the roof of the Daily Planet.

"You didn't have to be so loud!"

"Sorry, if the words 'human trials' had an effect on me!"

Clark looked at her with a concerned expression, "What worries me more, is that the other man in that room was Lex Luthor,"

"Wherever Lex Luthor is involved there is trouble." Descending from the sky, Bernstein landed gracefully in front of the pair.

Clark couldn't help but notice a peculiar, and somewhat familiar, twinkle in Chloe's bright green eyes as soon as she saw his future self.

{-}

_Year 2015_

"Any clues?"

"Possibly," Batman was finalizing his research, "there were some op-ed pieces of miraculous savings in the Middle East and Africa, while the Justice League was busy elsewhere,"

"You think that's Big Blue?"

"Almost positive," he printed one of the articles, "they were written by Lois Lane,"

Bart took the article in his hands, "I would think Chloeliciuous would be the one writing on our favorite Kryptonian,"

"I doubt it. If he went to the past specifically to save her, I'm sure they have seen each other at some point, and she would never violate his trust. Meaning –"

"She wouldn't write about anything odd happening," he snapped his fingers, "that makes sense, I think."

"If only we could confirm his location," the billionaire wondered.

"Perhaps I can help you," the doors opened revealing the Martian Manhunter, who stepped in with elegant poise, "I understand you are looking for our missing friend,"

Neither Flash nor Batman knew how their Martian colleague would be of assistance, but if they knew anything about their Martian ally it was the he was always of assistance.

"I believe that Superman contacted me in the past and due to my Martian physiology I was able to retain both my older and altered memories. At least for the time being,"

"Amazing! So where is he?"

"January 2012,"

He went a little further than either of them expected, "Any specific day?"

"Last I saw him was January 17. He had an encounter with Watchtower and his younger self,"

"Oh boy, that sounds like fun," Bart chipped in.

"Not quite," John began, not getting his sarcasm, "I would advise you go there on the 23rd, though my memory is vague, I believe it is significant."

"January 23rd, it is." The Flash said a little more enthusiastically than intended. As soon as he was ready to stop on that door Batman stopped him with a strong hand on his shoulder.

"I expect you and Superman back for debriefing first thing in the morning,"

That was as good as 'take care and make it back in one piece'. "As long as I ain't doing the paperwork,"

With that the man with a lightning bolt on his chest ran off increasing his speed exponentially. Though he didn't show it, he was slightly scared of time travelling. Sure, he's done it before, more than once even, but it was scary as heck. The smallest little action could have so many different outcomes. Who knew how many things had already changed that he was not aware of? Snapping back into focus, he concentrated on what he was doing one fateful day of January of 2012.

.

.

.

"Tijuana, here I come!"


	12. Bart

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing but the plot. Please enjoy the story!

**Author's Note:** Very special thanks to _Supernena25, Uchiha Himeko, my faithful Nakala, badkidoh, and a generous Guest._

**Bart**

"Sweet!" He patted himself in the back. He was able to make it in one piece and if the beach and the pretty ladies in swim suits were anything to go by he was fairly sure he made it to the beaches of Tijuana. Now he just needed to confirm that he made it to the right time frame. Ah, he spotted an old man selling necklaces made out of seashells.

"Excuse me," the elderly man looked at him wide eyed.

"_El Diablo_!"

Diablo? Didn't that mean devil? Bart looked down at his suit, a bright red suit with a yellow lightning in the middle. He couldn't be seen in his hero suit without attracting attention. He face palmed his face. "Sorry _amigo_, didn't mean to scare ya'" he sped away with one place in mind.

Wayne Manor.

{-}

"Chloe you need to stay away from Lex," Clark said with a resolute tone that left no space for argument.

Chloe rolled her eyes not the least bit intimidated by the Man of Steel. "Clark, please don't start," she lifted her hand to him, "I've been chasing Luthors since I was fifteen, and whether you like it or not I'm a journalist and a member of the League, it is my duty and my right to stop that psycho. I can't just sit on the sidelines just because a Luthor is cooking up his latest scheme,"

"Not when you can _die_," he said running a hand through his hair. "Aren't you going to say something?" he looked at his useless future self for some back up.

'Bernstein' looked at Clark and then turned to Chloe and made his way towards her, "Chloe," he placed his hands gently on her shoulders, "He is right," before she could protest, he continued, "but, I know better than to tell you not to do something," she smiled sweetly at him.

"I'm glad you learned something in the years to come," she teased.

Meanwhile, Clark just rolled his eyes at the exchange. His future self, took way too many liberties with Chloe, but the worst part was that she _let_ him! Take for example right now, he's rubbing her shoulders and smiling at her, looking at her like he, like he…loved her.

Could it be?

"My offer still stands," Bernstein gave her shoulders a last squeeze, "you could come with me,"

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms around her chest, "That's getting old. Look, I will chase this story, and figure out Lex's plans along the way. Now, you're either with me or not," she looked at the identical men in front of her.

{-}

The speedster made it to Gotham in less than a minute, and to Wayne Manor in less than three seconds.

"Now, now, I need something that will draw less attention," He mumbled to himself, while making his way unnoticed to the heir's room. His red-yellow suit was simply too flash-y (ha! See what he did there). Man was he way too funny for his own good. "Is there anything other than black and grey in here," boy was Bats taking it too far with the monochrome tones here. After 30-seconds of exhausting searching, he finally found what he was looking for: a dark gray suit with a red shirt (of course) and a black tie.

"This will have to do," he changed in seconds and hid his Flash regalia in a leather suitcase. He was amazed at the various mirrors that decorated the humungous closet of the heir of Wayne Industries. Later he will need to come and get some blackmail worthy information. He looked at himself one last time and winked at his reflection. "You sexy beast,"

He scribbled a Thank-You note and left it on the billionaire's bed. He figured a multi-billionaire really wouldn't miss one of many expensive suits. Now he needed to make his way to Metropolis, or the Daily Planet to be more precise. He would kill two birds with one stone that way, and find both Chloelicious and Big Blue.

He made his way over there in less than thirty seconds, it had been a while since he last visited Metropolis, it definitely had grown and changed since he was there a few years back. He spotted the signature golden globe of The Daily Planet contemplated for a minute whether he should just walk and ask for Chloe or…

Clark and Chloe were at the employee's lounge discussing for the millionth time her involvement in the Luthor and Human Experimentation story they were working on, when suddenly Chloe disappeared, or so it would seem to the human eye. However, Clark was able to see blur of grey and red pass by him; with no time to hesitate he sprinted after them. He kept speeding but was still unable to reach them, which was strange to Clark as he was at his maximum super-speed. He kept pushing himself to reach them, but it was to no avail. Until he noticed that the grey-red blur was actually becoming a silhouette, meaning that one of two things was happening: the being in front of him was either _slowing down_ or he was actually getting faster. He had the inkling suspicion that it was the former.

Slowly but surely that silhouette came to a halt and Clark stopped right behind it.

"I swear you have no idea who you're messing with!" Chloe said with a shriek as she kept punching on the man's chest. "I have friends in high places! Do you know who Superman is!?"

The man stifled a laugh and set her gently on her feet.

"Chloe, are you alright?" Clark asked from behind, he had this feeling that this man was not dangerous but couldn't be so sure.

"I'm o– " she stopped as she looked up into the young man's playful eyes.

"Hey Chloelicious," Bart said with a wink.

"Chloelicious?" both Clark and Chloe murmured at the same time. There was only one person they knew that called her that.

"Bart?" they asked again at the same time.

To add a more dramatic effect, Bart turned slowly to face Clark. He had yet to join the new and improved Justice League in this time and hadn't seen these two in years, not after his time with Oliver and the JL 1.0. "The one and only," he said with a smirk, but then pouted, "well I guess I'm not the only one _here,"  
><em> 

"Is it really you?" Chloe asked in awe. First of all, she had never seen this man in a suit, and quite honestly formal wear suited him well. Secondly, last time she saw him, he was barely her height, and know he was at least six to eight inches taller. Her first instinct was to pinch his cheek.

"Ouch!" he took a few steps back, "It's me I swear!" he answered in his playful tone as he massaged his abused cheek. "I came to get Clarkie and go home,"

"Me?" Clark pointed at himself in surprise, "Take me home?"

Chloe and Clark shared a look and then looked back at the speedster with confused looks.

"Wait a minute," The Flash started to eye Clark suspiciously and sped his way. He sped to different sides of the Kryptonian examining him with caution and then crossed his arms in front of his chest, "never mind, I'm looking for _another_ Clark,"

"What do you mean by 'another' Clark?" Chloe asked.

Bart made his way to the woman again, "Uhm, did you by chance meet a Clark from a not so distant future?"

"You're talking about Bernstein?" Clark asked in a slightly annoyed tone. _"Exactly what I needed, another weirdo to deal with,"_

"Bernstein?"

Chloe snapped her fingers, "He means the Clark from the future, and I take it you come from the same timeframe he does, right?"

The speedster took her hands in his, "As bright as always, that's why you're my favorite. Yup, I'm talking about that guy, I take it you've _both_ seen him," he eyed Clark and then turned back to Chloe. He just hopped the Clark from his time didn't do anything stupid as he used to do in his youth. The last thing he needed was another paradox to fix.

"Actually, yes."

"You know how to time travel?" Chloe said in awe, "Since when? Oh my God, this is so going in my JL archives," she said rather excited.

Clark rolled his eyes in friendly amusement; Chloe's recent behavior reminded him so much of the girl she was in high school and college. While his blonde friend grilled The Flash, he couldn't help but admire the woman from afar. She seemed much happier and energetic than he's seen her in a long time, and while he didn't like it one bit, this all started with the Clark Kent of the future making an apparition act in her life. Why did he have such in effect on her? Chloe was a sort of married woman, well not really married (that little certificate proved to be invalid) but certainly they were engaged, but Chloe just didn't 'glow' with Oliver. They didn't necessarily look wrong, per se, but they didn't look all that right either.

"Hey Amigo, you still with us?" Said Bart Allen just inches away from his face.

Clark took a startled step back, "Jesus Bart! I'm here aren't I?"

He chuckled, "Your head is miles away." He turned back to Chloe yet again, "Hey beautiful is there any way that you can get a hold of the big guy, for me?" Bart knew that, that doofus, would surely come if she called him.

Chloe blinked a few times, "Ahm, sure," she placed her hands on the corners of her mouth and shouted, "Help! Someone! Save me!"

Clark arched a brow. Bart looked at her confused. Chloe just waited.

In about thirty-seven seconds Bernstein was by her side, "Chloe are you alright? What's going on? Do you need any medical assistance?" He squinted his eyes and x-rayed her for any injuries. He took her face in his hands and looked at her his eyes filled with concern, "You okay?" he asked softly.

Clark coughed to get his future self's attention.

"_He's so whipped." _Bart chuckled.

Bernstein turned slowly to meet the glare of his younger self and also the happy grin on Bart's face. "Bart?"

"Mi Amigo!" He exclaimed and opened his arms to hug the big guy.

Bernstein released Chloe slowly and eyed The Flash carefully, "What are you –? How did you –?" He couldn't form coherent sentences at the surprise of meeting him. He needed no confirmation or proof that this was Bart Allen from 2015.

"Came to pick you up man. You should see all the commotion that's going on with the JL since you've been gone. Especially Bats, he was all _loco_ since your disappearance."

"You came here? You time travelled? That's great then maybe we could –" He looked at Chloe happily, maybe there was hope into changing Chloe's fate after all.

Bart looked at Chloe too and his charismatic smile fell, "Big Blue, we need to talk," he looked at the Man of Steel of the future square in the eye, "and it won't be pretty." He excused himself with the man nicknamed Bernstein and left Chloe and Clark by themselves momentarily.

"Another crazy guy from the future, huh?" Clark asked breaking the silence.

"It seems so. I'm intrigued to know how they came here," Chloe's journalistic instincts took over. "Maybe it has something to do with super-speed that is a super power you both have in common, right?"

Clark nodded and then silence fell upon them again. After a few minutes he added again, "Chloe, with Bart here with the clear intent of taking that guy back," he still couldn't call him Bernstein all the time, it was a hard thing to get used to, "is there any possibility of you…" _going with them_. He was unable to finish.

Chloe sighed and closed her eyes briefly before looking at Clark, "You didn't notice?"

The man with steel blue eyes looked at her waiting for her to elaborate.

Her eyes stared into the distance, "When I used the Fate helmet, I saw things. Things I was more or less able to change," then she looked back at her friend and gave him the most bittersweet smile he had ever seen in his life, "I have a feeling that this time, my fate _cannot _be changed. Some things cannot be changed and this is one of them." She paused briefly, took a deep breath and then continued, "You know, when I first realized that's the reason you, or him, however you want to see it, came from the future to save me, I…I felt happy…"

He listened to her words intently, fearing the time where he might not be able to listen to her anymore.

"…and I also felt enraged because you were putting yourself and the world in danger," she suppressed the urge to add 'again,' "but I realized, after crying a little, or rather A LOT, that…well… my time would come a little sooner than expected and all I had left now is to enjoy whatever is left to the best of my ability, don't yo–"

She felt his strong arms pulling her to him, "Nonsense," he said softly into her ear, "that's simply nonsense. I promised to be your personal bomb squad. I promised to protect you, and I know I've broken way too many promises, but it's time I actually deliver."

"Clark," she said in a lousy attempt to stop him from saying foolish things.

He softened his hold on her slightly and looked at her beautiful green-hazel eyes, "Chloe, that man, the Clark from the future, me, or whoever he is, may not be able to save you, but I can."

He rested his forehead on hers.

.

.

.

"I_ will_."


End file.
